Swiss National Bank Buys 57,920 Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,040,320 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 57,920 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $479,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Down 14.1%

Shares of ISRG opened at $345.42 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12 month low of $344.55 and a 12 month high of $603.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $415.28 and its 200-day moving average is $467.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.33 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.46.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 17.09% and a net margin of 28.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.46, for a total transaction of $236,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,156.94. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.14, for a total value of $169,656.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,426,080.80. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 7,169 shares of company stock valued at $3,059,135 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ISRG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $550.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $483.00 price target (down from $577.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $518.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $590.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $523.46.

Key Stories Impacting Intuitive Surgical

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

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.