Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $562.00 and last traded at $558.46, with a volume of 163335 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $538.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ISRG. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $535.00 to $561.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $567.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on 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, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.17.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $208.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $538.34 and a 200-day moving average of $497.08.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.32. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Desantis sold 376 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.00, for a total transaction of $202,664.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,967,734. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jamie Samath sold 108 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $542.06, for a total transaction of $58,542.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,746,819.42. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,190 shares of company stock valued at $25,012,927. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISRG. LVW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 5.8% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 362 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 4.1% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 503 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 687 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently 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.