SEB Asset Management AB Makes New Investment in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• SEB Asset Management AB opened a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the first quarter, buying 148,216 shares valued at about $68.3 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on ISRG despite recent price-target cuts: analysts currently assign a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $523.46.
• Intuitive Surgical recently posted better-than-expected Q2 results and strong procedure growth, but investors were rattled by a cautious outlook and slower U.S. procedure growth.

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 148,216 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $68,326,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ISRG shares. Evercore set a $430.00 price target on Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $650.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays set a $651.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.46.

Key Intuitive Surgical News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Intuitive Surgical reported stronger-than-expected Q2 revenue and earnings, helped by solid demand for its da Vinci robotic surgery systems and continued adoption of its products. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company still reported healthy procedure growth overall, with worldwide procedures rising and placements of robotic systems remaining strong, which supports the long-term investment case. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts lowered price targets after the report, but most kept bullish ratings such as overweight, buy, or outperform, suggesting Wall Street still sees meaningful upside despite the near-term pullback. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Management did not raise its forecast for procedure growth, and investors reacted badly to slower U.S. procedure growth and a cautious full-year outlook. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also noted concerns that changes to some insurance plans could reduce demand, adding to worries about slower U.S. growth and a softer near-term procedure trajectory. Reuters article

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of ISRG opened at $345.42 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a twelve month low of $344.55 and a twelve month high of $603.88. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $415.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.88. The firm has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.46.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 28.45% and a return on equity of 17.09%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.46, for a total value of $236,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,156.94. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their position. The sale 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, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.55, for a total value of $2,365,593.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,718,014.65. This trade represents a 46.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,169 shares of company stock valued at $3,059,135. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical 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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