BTIG Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Stock

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at BTIG Research from $535.00 to $561.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.85% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ISRG. Erste Group Bank upgraded Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $604.00 price objective on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $440.00 to $500.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.06.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Intuitive Surgical stock traded up $3.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $540.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 403,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,257. The company has a 50 day moving average of $505.63 and a 200-day moving average of $465.19. Intuitive Surgical has a one year low of $304.50 and a one year high of $552.00. The stock has a market cap of $192.40 billion, a PE ratio of 86.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intuitive Surgical news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.28, for a total transaction of $220,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,519.88. This trade represents a 35.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jamie Samath sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.89, for a total value of $145,230.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,816.73. The trade was a 2.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,539 shares of company stock valued at $26,112,364. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Surgical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ISRG. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 3,526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its position in Intuitive Surgical by 17.4% in the third quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 8,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Intuitive Surgical by 617.1% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 89,069 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $39,622,000 after acquiring an additional 76,649 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,052,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $517,209,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth about $604,000. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.