Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ISRG has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $714.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $616.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $620.00 price objective (up from $610.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, January 23rd. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $644.00 to $653.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $590.00 price target (down previously from $635.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.23.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Up 0.9%

ISRG stock opened at $504.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.88, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $535.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.51. Intuitive Surgical has a 12-month low of $425.00 and a 12-month high of $607.35.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.26. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 28.38%.The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. Intuitive Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, Director Gary S. Guthart sold 24,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.10, for a total transaction of $12,987,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,958,189.40. The trade was a 86.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Myriam Curet sold 421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.96, for a total transaction of $208,378.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,438.64. This represents a 50.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,189 shares of company stock valued at $30,785,441. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Tobam increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 666.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 46 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

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.