Erste Group Bank Downgrades Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) to Hold

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ISRG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $611.00 to $641.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $707.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $560.00 to $688.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $611.86.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ ISRG opened at $483.95 on Monday. Intuitive Surgical has a 12 month low of $364.17 and a 12 month high of $616.00. The company has a market capitalization of $172.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $565.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $531.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuitive Surgical news, EVP Brian Edward Miller sold 8,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.07, for a total transaction of $4,317,123.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,793,033.06. This trade represents a 60.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Desantis sold 11,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.22, for a total transaction of $5,763,494.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,925.28. The trade was a 68.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,754 shares of company stock valued at $17,691,621 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

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.