Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Stock Price Down 1.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $529.31 and last traded at $530.02. Approximately 1,771,385 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 2,122,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $537.59.

Specifically, EVP Myriam Curet sold 7,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.43, for a total transaction of $4,147,227.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,595.79. This trade represents a 95.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Myriam Curet sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.00, for a total value of $67,875.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In related news, CEO David J. Rosa sold 24,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.55, for a total transaction of $13,414,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 234,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,266,872.80. This trade represents a 9.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ISRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $655.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho set a $575.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $625.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $610.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.92.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $463.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $498.23. The company has a market capitalization of $190.00 billion, a PE ratio of 70.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISRG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter worth $2,569,260,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the first quarter worth $1,715,899,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth $388,436,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $18,115,025,000 after purchasing an additional 670,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 26.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,819,666 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,396,496,000 after purchasing an additional 584,375 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Intuitive Surgical

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.