Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,460,000 shares, a decline of 16.6% from the November 15th total of 4,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ISRG. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $495.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $538.00 target price (up previously from $495.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $549.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuitive Surgical news, CFO Jamie Samath sold 108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $542.06, for a total value of $58,542.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,746,819.42. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Desantis sold 376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.00, for a total transaction of $202,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,967,734. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,190 shares of company stock valued at $25,012,927 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Surgical

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exome Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 16.8% during the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,649,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 2.2% during the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 13,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,427,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $539.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $192.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $521.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $479.00. Intuitive Surgical has a one year low of $320.26 and a one year high of $556.23.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 13.41%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System that enables complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung.