Citigroup Upgrades Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) to “Buy”

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage currently has a $590.00 price target on the medical equipment provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.44% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $655.00 to $645.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $603.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $644.00 to $653.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.86.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Down 1.6%

ISRG stock opened at $485.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $518.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $512.74. The firm has a market cap of $172.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.66. Intuitive Surgical has a 12 month low of $425.00 and a 12 month high of $603.88.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 421 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.96, for a total transaction of $208,378.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,438.64. This trade represents a 50.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary S. Guthart sold 24,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.10, for a total value of $12,987,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,958,189.40. This trade represents a 86.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,802 shares of company stock valued at $19,945,322 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tobam increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 666.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 46 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the third quarter valued at $27,000. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.