Armistice Capital LLC Buys 20,073 Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC increased its Intuitive Surgical stake by 49% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,073 additional shares to bring its total to 61,073 shares worth about $34.6 million.
• Intuitive Surgical reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $2.50 beating estimates and revenue of $2.77 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 23% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive despite recent share weakness: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $573.42, while shares were recently trading near $402, well below their 52-week high.

Armistice Capital LLC raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 49.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,073 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,073 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC's holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $34,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $2,856,987,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 18,504.6% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,127,248 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,204,788,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115,814 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1,043.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,342,121 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $760,124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,734 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $477,225,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 106.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,533,771 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $868,667,000 after acquiring an additional 791,516 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $402.18 on Thursday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.68 and a fifty-two week high of $603.88. The stock has a market cap of $142.44 billion, a PE ratio of 48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $440.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.22.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.62 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ISRG shares. Citigroup raised shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $590.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $622.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $574.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $573.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.55, for a total value of $2,365,593.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,463 shares in the company, valued at $2,718,014.65. The trade was a 46.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.46, for a total transaction of $236,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,156.94. The trade was a 67.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,169 shares of company stock worth $3,059,135 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

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.

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