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

Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $617.2273.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ISRG shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $655.00 to $645.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $616.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $590.00 price target (down previously from $635.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $476.32 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical has a fifty-two week low of $425.00 and a fifty-two week high of $609.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $551.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $510.73.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.26. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.38% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, Director Gary S. Guthart sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $1,488,256.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,720 shares in the company, valued at $8,355,494.40. This trade represents a 15.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Brosius sold 464 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $548.49, for a total value of $254,499.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $71,852.19. This represents a 77.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 73,616 shares of company stock valued at $40,929,575 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ISRG. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 920 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.5% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 4,033 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 2.0% in the third quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 998 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 21.7% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

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.