Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Intuitive Surgical stake by 42.7% in the second quarter, selling 745,167 shares and retaining 999,841 shares worth approximately $397.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.64% of the company.
• Wall Street remains generally positive, with 20 analysts rating ISRG a Buy, eight recommending Hold and one issuing a Sell rating. The stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $509.02, despite some recent target reductions.
• Intuitive Surgical exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.80 in earnings per share and $2.89 billion in revenue, up 18.4% year over year. Shares opened at $373.71, well below their 52-week high of $603.88, while insiders sold 6,634 shares worth about $2.8 million during the quarter.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 42.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 999,841 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 745,167 shares during the period. Intuitive Surgical comprises approximately 0.5% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.28% of Intuitive Surgical worth $397,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 61 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ISRG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $550.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $558.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Intuitive Surgical to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Evercore set a $430.00 price target on Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Intuitive Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $509.02.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Down 0.4%

ISRG opened at $373.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $132.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.81, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.46. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 52-week low of $328.57 and a 52-week high of $603.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $393.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.25.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.14, for a total transaction of $169,656.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,426,080.80. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,718,014.65. This trade represents a 46.53% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 6,634 shares of company stock valued at $2,796,795. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company 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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