Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the May 15th total of 3,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $435.00 on Thursday. Intuitive Surgical has a 52-week low of $254.85 and a 52-week high of $436.94. The firm has a market cap of $154.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.52, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $395.37 and its 200 day moving average is $376.97.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.10. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 27.16%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alan J. Levy sold 2,000 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.70, for a total transaction of $741,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,385,753.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Craig H. Barratt sold 1,400 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.06, for a total value of $589,484.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alan J. Levy sold 2,000 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.70, for a total value of $741,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,319 shares in the company, valued at $9,385,753.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,956 shares of company stock valued at $6,927,011. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 8,899 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,002,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 740 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,363 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ISRG. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $412.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.67.

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.