ClearPoint Neuro (NASDAQ:CLPT) & Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Critical Comparison

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) and ClearPoint Neuro (NASDAQ:CLPT) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.1% of ClearPoint Neuro shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of ClearPoint Neuro shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Intuitive Surgical and ClearPoint Neuro”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intuitive Surgical	$10.06 billion	14.19	$2.86 billion	$8.25	48.87
ClearPoint Neuro	$40.61 million	13.68	-$25.54 million	($1.01)	-18.35

Intuitive Surgical has higher revenue and earnings than ClearPoint Neuro. ClearPoint Neuro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intuitive Surgical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Intuitive Surgical and ClearPoint Neuro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intuitive Surgical	28.15%	15.98%	14.07%
ClearPoint Neuro	-71.57%	-140.96%	-36.98%

Risk and Volatility

Intuitive Surgical has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ClearPoint Neuro has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Intuitive Surgical and ClearPoint Neuro, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intuitive Surgical	1	7	19	0	2.67
ClearPoint Neuro	1	0	2	0	2.33

Intuitive Surgical presently has a consensus price target of $573.42, suggesting a potential upside of 42.22%. ClearPoint Neuro has a consensus price target of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.12%. Given Intuitive Surgical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Intuitive Surgical is more favorable than ClearPoint Neuro.

Summary

Intuitive Surgical beats ClearPoint Neuro on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System that enables complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung. It also provides a suite of stapling, energy, and core instrumentation for its multi-port da Vinci surgical systems; progressive learning pathways to support the use of its technology; infrastructure of service and support specialists, a complement of services to its customers, including installation, repair, maintenance, 24/7 technical support, and proactive system health monitoring; and integrated digital capabilities providing connected offerings, streamlining performance for hospitals with program-enhancing insights. The company sells its products through direct sales organizations, such as capital and clinical sales teams. It has a collaboration agreement with FluoGuide A/S for head & neck cancer. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

About ClearPoint Neuro

ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. operates as a medical device company primarily in the United States. It develops and commercializes platforms for performing minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain under magnetic resonance imaging guided interventions. The company offers ClearPoint system, an integrated system for the insertion of deep brain stimulation electrodes, biopsy needles, and laser catheters, as well as the infusion of pharmaceuticals into the brain. It has license and collaboration agreement with Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB; license and research agreement with Koninklijke Philips N.V., UCB Biopharma SRL, and University of California and San Francisco; and development and license agreement with NE Scientific, LLC. The company was formerly known as MRI Interventions, Inc. and changed its name to ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. in February 2020. ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Solana Beach, California.