Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Upgraded by Erste Group Bank to Buy Rating

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ISRG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $466.00 to $549.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $538.00 price target (up previously from $495.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $512.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $503.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.61.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG traded up $5.48 on Tuesday, hitting $537.12. 342,349 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,455,427. Intuitive Surgical has a 1-year low of $304.50 and a 1-year high of $544.38. The company has a market capitalization of $191.31 billion, a PE ratio of 86.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $500.33 and its 200 day moving average is $459.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary S. Guthart sold 18,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.63, for a total transaction of $9,286,596.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,166.97. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Henry L. Charlton sold 40,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.84, for a total transaction of $19,591,902.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,461,006.84. This represents a 93.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,178 shares of company stock valued at $45,897,071 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 10,606.9% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 12,420 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,957,000 after buying an additional 12,304 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 1st quarter worth approximately $161,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,324 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 7,471 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,551 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,211,000 after buying an additional 1,618 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.