Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Stock

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $625.00 to $650.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ISRG. Wall Street Zen cut Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Argus lifted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $630.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $610.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $611.08.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of ISRG opened at $561.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.32, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.68. Intuitive Surgical has a 1-year low of $425.00 and a 1-year high of $616.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $538.62 and a 200 day moving average of $506.16.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.58% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark Brosius sold 464 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $548.49, for a total value of $254,499.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,852.19. The trade was a 77.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Craig H. Barratt sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $435,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,007 shares of company stock worth $63,533,844. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Surgical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,569,260,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the third quarter worth about $388,436,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 29.7% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,227,472 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,451,362,000 after acquiring an additional 739,444 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,335,833 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,115,025,000 after acquiring an additional 670,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 77.0% during the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,341,109 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $599,784,000 after acquiring an additional 583,539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

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.