Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Hsbc Global Res

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Hsbc Global Res to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ISRG. Robert W. Baird set a $655.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $600.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $603.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $595.00 to $644.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $602.32.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $546.51 on Thursday. Intuitive Surgical has a 1 year low of $425.00 and a 1 year high of $616.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $458.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.02. The stock has a market cap of $195.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.29, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.61.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.58% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 29,360 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.49, for a total value of $13,872,306.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $9,368,059.23. This trade represents a 59.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 335 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.69, for a total transaction of $147,631.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,669.91. This trade represents a 31.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,724 shares of company stock valued at $19,500,332 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Crown Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 440 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 3.8% during the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 546 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 4.8% during the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 436 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% during the first quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Intuitive Surgical

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.