Insider Selling: Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Director Sells $9,075,102.95 in Stock

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Director Gary Guthart sold 20,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.61, for a total transaction of $9,075,102.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,204,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,977,793.30. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

ISRG opened at $444.18 on Thursday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $328.57 and a fifty-two week high of $603.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $399.37 and its 200 day moving average is $435.44. The stock has a market cap of $153.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.46.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The medical equipment provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.35. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 25.54% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Intuitive Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $590.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,616,973 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,667,388,000 after buying an additional 116,292 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter worth $1,335,753,000. Amundi increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 8.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,428,356 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,119,448,000 after acquiring an additional 193,096 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,105,544 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $970,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 3.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,643,060 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $757,489,000 after buying an additional 58,587 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Intuitive Surgical

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly bullish on ISRG. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $493.54, while Zacks recently upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy.” Raymond James and BTIG also reiterated positive ratings. Wall Street Views on Intuitive Surgical
• Positive Sentiment: Intuitive Surgical’s latest quarter showed solid demand: revenue rose 21.7% year over year to $3.05 billion, exceeding estimates, while earnings of $3.00 per share beat the $2.65 consensus. This supports the long-term growth case for its da Vinci robotic-surgery business. Intuitive Surgical Earnings and Valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent performance has been mixed: the stock has rebounded over the past one to three months, but remains below its prior-year level. Investors are assessing whether continued procedure growth and higher estimates can justify ISRG’s premium valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders reported stock sales, including EVP Mark Brosius, SVP Patricia Wadors, former CEO Gary Guthart and insider Fredrik Widman. Brosius sold shares in two transactions, while Guthart’s reported sale was approximately $9.1 million. The trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their signaling value, but the volume of selling may weigh on sentiment. Gary Guthart Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, lower net income and earnings-per-share comparisons have highlighted margin pressure. With ISRG trading at a high earnings multiple, investors may be particularly sensitive to any slowdown in profitability or procedure growth. Why Intuitive Surgical’s Strong Quarter Spooked Investors

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, Inc develops and manufactures robotic-assisted systems and related technologies for minimally invasive surgery. Its products are designed to help surgeons perform procedures through small incisions while providing enhanced visualization, precision and control. The company’s primary platform is the da Vinci Surgical System, which is used across a range of specialties, including urology, gynecology, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and other procedures.

The company also offers the Ion endoluminal system, which is designed to support minimally invasive lung biopsy procedures.