Short Interest in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Increases By 6.9%

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,700,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Intuitive Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $522.00 to $650.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $604.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $495.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuitive Surgical news, EVP Brian Edward Miller sold 2,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.00, for a total value of $1,314,795.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,990. The trade was a 26.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jamie Samath sold 22,903 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $12,024,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,597,425. The trade was a 72.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,190 shares of company stock valued at $25,012,927. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 3,526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 8,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,979,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 617.1% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 89,069 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,622,000 after acquiring an additional 76,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,052,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $517,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ISRG opened at $521.96 on Thursday. Intuitive Surgical has a twelve month low of $320.26 and a twelve month high of $556.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $532.03 and its 200-day moving average is $489.68. The stock has a market cap of $185.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 13.41%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.