Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $450.00. The stock had previously closed at $402.33, but opened at $365.03. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Intuitive Surgical shares last traded at $355.9240, with a volume of 2,263,369 shares.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ISRG. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $653.00 to $604.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $440.00 to $366.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $750.00 to $685.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, seven 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 an average target price of $523.46.

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.55, for a total value of $2,365,593.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,718,014.65. This represents a 46.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 119 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.50, for a total transaction of $55,156.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,620. The trade was a 49.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,169 shares of company stock valued at $3,059,135 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Intuitive Surgical News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Intuitive Surgical reported stronger-than-expected Q2 revenue and earnings, helped by solid demand for its da Vinci robotic surgery systems and continued adoption of its products. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company still reported healthy procedure growth overall, with worldwide procedures rising and placements of robotic systems remaining strong, which supports the long-term investment case. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts lowered price targets after the report, but most kept bullish ratings such as overweight, buy, or outperform, suggesting Wall Street still sees meaningful upside despite the near-term pullback. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Management did not raise its forecast for procedure growth, and investors reacted badly to slower U.S. procedure growth and a cautious full-year outlook. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also noted concerns that changes to some insurance plans could reduce demand, adding to worries about slower U.S. growth and a softer near-term procedure trajectory. Reuters article

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 833.3% in the 4th quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. now owns 56 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $415.28 and a 200 day moving average of $467.88. The firm has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.46.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 17.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

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.