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

Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $598.95.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $560.00 to $688.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $640.00 to $711.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $630.00 to $605.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ISRG opened at $563.95 on Wednesday. Intuitive Surgical has a fifty-two week low of $379.67 and a fifty-two week high of $616.00. The stock has a market cap of $202.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.98, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $501.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $535.58.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.10. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 27.81% and a return on equity of 14.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jamie Samath sold 188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.94, for a total transaction of $106,584.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,060,424.28. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Myriam Curet sold 2,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.00, for a total transaction of $1,394,981.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,093. This trade represents a 87.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,636 shares of company stock valued at $16,829,815. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,665,531 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,178,258,000 after buying an additional 453,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,756,727 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,039,200,000 after purchasing an additional 243,802 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,868,869 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,541,356,000 after purchasing an additional 86,488 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the fourth quarter worth about $2,401,493,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 1.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,219,974 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,090,027,000 after purchasing an additional 71,794 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is 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.