Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Competitors

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, ISRG or ABT?

Intuitive Surgical has a beta of 1.67, meaning that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend ISRG or ABT?

Intuitive Surgical currently has a consensus price target of $588.95, suggesting a potential upside of 9.47%. Abbott Laboratories has a consensus price target of $142.61, suggesting a potential upside of 4.70%. Given Intuitive Surgical's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Intuitive Surgical is more favorable than Abbott Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intuitive Surgical	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
Abbott Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.76

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ISRG or ABT?

83.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Intuitive Surgical shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ISRG or ABT?

In the previous week, Abbott Laboratories had 11 more articles in the media than Intuitive Surgical. MarketBeat recorded 65 mentions for Abbott Laboratories and 54 mentions for Intuitive Surgical. Intuitive Surgical's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Abbott Laboratories' score of 1.26 indicating that Intuitive Surgical is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Intuitive Surgical	50 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Abbott Laboratories	54 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ISRG or ABT more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories has a net margin of 31.89% compared to Intuitive Surgical's net margin of 28.41%. Abbott Laboratories' return on equity of 19.01% beat Intuitive Surgical's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intuitive Surgical	28.41%	14.43%	12.81%
Abbott Laboratories	31.89%	19.01%	10.82%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, ISRG or ABT?

Abbott Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than Intuitive Surgical. Abbott Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intuitive Surgical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intuitive Surgical	$8.35B	23.09	$2.32B	$6.82	78.88
Abbott Laboratories	$41.95B	5.65	$13.40B	$7.71	17.67

Summary

Intuitive Surgical beats Abbott Laboratories on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.