Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Price Target to $550.00

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) had its price target cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $670.00 to $550.00 in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ISRG. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $585.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $487.00 price objective (down from $654.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $615.00 to $577.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $651.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $523.46.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $345.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $415.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $467.12. Intuitive Surgical has a twelve month low of $344.55 and a twelve month high of $603.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.14, for a total value of $169,656.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,426,080.80. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.55, for a total transaction of $2,365,593.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,718,014.65. This trade represents a 46.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,169 shares of company stock worth $3,059,135. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISRG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $2,856,987,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 18,504.6% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,127,248 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,204,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115,814 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1,043.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,342,121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $760,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,734 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,105,544 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $970,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,475 shares during the period. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth $477,225,000. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Surgical News Roundup

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

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.