Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) had its price objective increased by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $525.00 to $610.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Intuitive Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $522.00 to $650.00 in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $489.00 to $502.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $535.00 to $561.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $512.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.33.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

ISRG traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $548.47. The stock had a trading volume of 187,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,070. The company has a market cap of $195.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $513.56 and a 200 day moving average of $472.07. Intuitive Surgical has a 1 year low of $307.72 and a 1 year high of $552.08.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 28.51%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary S. Guthart sold 18,151 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.63, for a total value of $9,286,596.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,166.97. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.28, for a total value of $220,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,519.88. This represents a 35.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,023 shares of company stock valued at $26,384,247 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 11.7% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 725 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter valued at $206,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 87.7% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 321 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter valued at $187,000. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 5.4% during the second quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

Intuitive Surgical, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System that enables complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung.