Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $561.82, but opened at $533.96. Intuitive Surgical shares last traded at $539.8390, with a volume of 477,785 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ISRG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus lifted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $630.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. HSBC increased their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $595.00 to $644.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $580.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $622.17.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $566.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $511.85. The firm has a market cap of $193.91 billion, a PE ratio of 71.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Henry L. Charlton sold 13,731 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $7,963,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,056 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,480. This trade represents a 81.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Craig H. Barratt sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $435,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 114,007 shares of company stock valued at $63,533,844. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ISRG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,569,260,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth about $388,436,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 106.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,533,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $868,667,000 after acquiring an additional 791,516 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,227,472 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,451,362,000 after acquiring an additional 739,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,335,833 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,115,025,000 after acquiring an additional 670,302 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.