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

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and twenty-two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $508.6830.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $550.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $430.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, July 6th.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $376.86 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $431.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.47. Intuitive Surgical has a 12 month low of $328.57 and a 12 month high of $603.88.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical will post 8.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.00, for a total transaction of $151,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,320 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,280. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary S. Guthart sold 10,000 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,245,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,271,600. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,658 shares of company stock valued at $4,649,835 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ISRG. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. now owns 56 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 281.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 61 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.