Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $614.9545.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $620.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Intuitive Surgical to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $740.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $603.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $616.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Intuitive Surgical News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals — Intuitive reported a strong quarter (EPS and revenue beats, healthy margins and ~19% year-over-year revenue growth), which underpins investor confidence in growth and helps justify the stock’s premium P/E.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / thematic support — Motley Fool coverage frames ISRG as a high-growth pick and highlights the company’s durable competitive position in surgical robotics, which can support longer-term investor demand. Intuitive Surgical Maintains Edge Despite Security Breach
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading moves — Coverage of ISRG’s intraday/settlement gains shows short-term buyer interest, but volume and market context suggest this is a continuation of momentum trading rather than a new fundamental catalyst. ISRG Rises But Trails Market
• Negative Sentiment: Security / operational risk — A phishing attack in March compromised an employee account and exposed some customer contact, employee and corporate information; this raises short-term reputational and operational risk and could pressure sentiment until controls and remediation are clearly communicated. Intuitive Surgical Maintains Edge Despite Security Breach
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Zacks cut ISRG from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which can reduce short-term buying pressure from model-driven funds and investor groups that track analyst sentiment. Zacks.com

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, Director Gary S. Guthart sold 24,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.10, for a total value of $12,987,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,958,189.40. This trade represents a 86.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patricia L. Wadors sold 220 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.71, for a total value of $109,936.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,943 shares of company stock valued at $17,279,568. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,963,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Carter Financial LLC purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,888 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of ISRG opened at $464.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $164.94 billion, a PE ratio of 58.87, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $490.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $513.40. Intuitive Surgical has a 1 year low of $425.00 and a 1 year high of $603.88.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.26. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 28.38%.The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a medical technology company focused on the design, manufacture and service of robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company is best known for its da Vinci surgical systems, which enable minimally invasive procedures by translating a surgeon’s hand movements into finer, scaled motions of small instruments inside the patient. Intuitive’s business centers on supplying hospitals and surgical centers with systems, instruments and related technologies that aim to improve precision, visualization and control in the operating room.

In addition to its core surgical platforms, Intuitive markets a portfolio of reusable and disposable instruments, accessories, and proprietary software, and provides training, servicing and clinical support to its customers.