Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $554.17.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ISRG. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $503.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $522.00 to $650.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $549.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $542.37 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $533.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.20. The company has a market cap of $193.18 billion, a PE ratio of 87.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.39. Intuitive Surgical has a fifty-two week low of $324.12 and a fifty-two week high of $556.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, EVP Robert Desantis sold 188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.52, for a total transaction of $95,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,788,899.12. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jamie Samath sold 270 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.15, for a total value of $145,840.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,730,093.55. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,190 shares of company stock worth $25,012,927 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ISRG. State Street Corp boosted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,050,121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,393,673,000 after buying an additional 210,363 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,971,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,389,765,000 after purchasing an additional 838,793 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,512,925 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,677,194,000 after purchasing an additional 143,440 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,782,381 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,349,441,000 after buying an additional 86,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,848,547 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,890,676,000 after buying an additional 24,183 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by 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.