Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Shares Break Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $434.05 and traded as low as $431.19. Intuitive Surgical shares last traded at $432.01, with a volume of 3,480,760 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ISRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $486.00 price objective (down from $487.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price target (up from $485.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.54.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Down 3.7%

The firm has a market cap of $149.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $401.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $434.05.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The medical equipment provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 25.54% and a return on equity of 18.17%. Intuitive Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, VP Fredrik Widman sold 4,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.21, for a total value of $1,834,140.87. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,026 shares in the company, valued at $464,993.46. This represents a 79.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Guthart sold 20,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.61, for a total transaction of $9,075,102.95. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,204,530 shares in the company, valued at $543,977,793.30. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 38,778 shares of company stock worth $16,814,967 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 627 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 40.7% during the third quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 83 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 2,542 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 4,794 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,210,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 4.1% during the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 640 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, Inc develops and manufactures robotic-assisted systems and related technologies for minimally invasive surgery. Its products are designed to help surgeons perform procedures through small incisions while providing enhanced visualization, precision and control. The company’s primary platform is the da Vinci Surgical System, which is used across a range of specialties, including urology, gynecology, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and other procedures.

The company also offers the Ion endoluminal system, which is designed to support minimally invasive lung biopsy procedures.