Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 19,264 Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 86.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,143 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 19,264 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISRG. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 58.1% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 833.3% in the fourth quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. now owns 56 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Intuitive Surgical News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded ISRG, arguing that the recent selloff was excessive. The firm’s revised price target of $475 implies meaningful upside and may be supporting renewed investor interest. UBS upgrades Intuitive Surgical
• Positive Sentiment: Intuitive Surgical’s expansion beyond urology into general surgery and other specialties could create additional procedure growth and increase long-term demand for da Vinci systems, instruments and related services. Robotic surgery expansion beyond urology
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with the brokerage consensus at “Moderate Buy.” The company’s recurring revenue from instruments and accessories, expanding installed base and durable robotic-surgery demand remain key bullish arguments. Brokerage consensus on Intuitive Surgical
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks highlighted the unusually high level of investor interest in ISRG, but the article did not provide a new earnings or guidance catalyst. Zacks investor attention report
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive’s small stock sales were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his holdings by roughly 2%, making them unlikely to materially alter the investment case. Intuitive Surgical insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC lowered Intuitive Surgical from Buy to Hold and set a $391 price target. Although that target remains above recent trading levels, the downgrade signals reduced confidence in the stock’s near-term upside. HSBC downgrades Intuitive Surgical
• Negative Sentiment: Despite a quarterly revenue and earnings beat, investors remain concerned about softer U.S. procedure growth, deferred care and the premium valuation. Those worries have contributed to continued pressure in the shares. Intuitive Surgical post-earnings selloff

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on ISRG shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $391.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $750.00 to $685.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $520.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.02.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $353.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.46. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 1-year low of $328.57 and a 1-year high of $603.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $398.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.98.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.32. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Intuitive Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuitive Surgical news, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.55, for a total value of $2,365,593.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,718,014.65. The trade was a 46.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.14, for a total value of $169,656.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,426,080.80. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,634 shares of company stock worth $2,796,795. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a medical technology company focused on the design, manufacture and service of robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company is best known for its da Vinci surgical systems, which enable minimally invasive procedures by translating a surgeon’s hand movements into finer, scaled motions of small instruments inside the patient. Intuitive’s business centers on supplying hospitals and surgical centers with systems, instruments and related technologies that aim to improve precision, visualization and control in the operating room.

In addition to its core surgical platforms, Intuitive markets a portfolio of reusable and disposable instruments, accessories, and proprietary software, and provides training, servicing and clinical support to its customers.