Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG Shares Acquired by Perceptive Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Perceptive Advisors increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 35,800 additional shares and ending with 87,919 shares worth about $49.8 million.
• Institutional interest in ISRG remains strong, with several large funds adding positions; overall, 83.64% of the stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Intuitive Surgical beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.50 EPS on $2.77 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $573.42.

Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 68.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,919 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC's holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $49,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ISRG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter worth $2,856,987,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 18,504.6% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,127,248 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,204,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115,814 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1,043.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,342,121 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $760,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,734 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter worth $477,225,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 106.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,533,771 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $868,667,000 after purchasing an additional 791,516 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intuitive Surgical news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 119 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.50, for a total transaction of $55,156.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,620. This trade represents a 49.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.14, for a total transaction of $169,656.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,426,080.80. This represents a 6.54% 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 7,169 shares of company stock valued at $3,059,135 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $615.00 to $577.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $622.00 to $573.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $570.00 to $550.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $574.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $573.42.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $402.18 on Thursday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.68 and a 12-month high of $603.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50-day moving average is $440.46 and its two-hundred day 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

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.

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