Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Barclays

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

ISRG has been the topic of several other research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $650.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. HSBC cut shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $391.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $430.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.53.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $415.41 on Wednesday. Intuitive Surgical has a 12 month low of $328.57 and a 12 month high of $603.88. The stock has a market cap of $146.76 billion, a PE ratio of 47.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.17.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.32. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 28.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Intuitive Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical will post 8.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark Brosius sold 77 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.57, for a total value of $28,918.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 881 shares in the company, valued at $330,877.17. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,245,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,271,600. This 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 12,370 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,989 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,315,000. Sycomore Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,730,000. Hikari Power Ltd bought a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the second quarter valued at about $5,619,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the second quarter valued at about $14,316,000. Finally, Xponance LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 91,787 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $51,984,000 after purchasing an additional 4,648 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Intuitive Surgical

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support is strengthening. Piper Sandler initiated or reiterated a Buy rating, while Barclays upgraded Intuitive Surgical to Strong Buy after previously starting coverage at Overweight. Citi has also maintained a Buy view. The cluster of bullish ratings is likely supporting investor confidence ahead of earnings. Piper Sandler Buy article Barclays upgrade article
• Positive Sentiment: Growth expectations remain favorable. Investors are anticipating the October 20 earnings report, with expectations for year-over-year gains in revenue and earnings per share. Intuitive Surgical’s recurring procedure and instrument revenue streams continue to make it attractive despite a softer medical-device market. Barclays bullish initiation article
• Positive Sentiment: The da Vinci SP platform is gaining traction. Rising procedures, utilization and system placements, along with expanding indications and international adoption, could make the single-port platform an important future growth franchise. Single-port platform article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is supportive but imperfect. The average brokerage recommendation favors buying ISRG, though the articles caution that sell-side ratings can be overly optimistic and should not be used alone to make an investment decision. Wall Street analyst consensus article
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and valuation remain risks. Commentary raised concerns about rivals including Johnson & Johnson and noted that the stock’s elevated earnings multiple leaves less room for disappointment. Jim Cramer questioned whether Intuitive Surgical’s competitive advantages can persist as more companies enter robotic surgery. Competition concerns article

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, Inc develops and commercializes robotic-assisted systems and related technologies designed to support minimally invasive medical procedures. The company’s products are intended to help surgeons perform operations through small incisions while providing enhanced visualization, precision, and control.

Its principal product is the da Vinci Surgical System, a platform used across a range of specialties, including general surgery, urology, gynecology, thoracic surgery, and cardiac procedures.