Short Interest in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Expands By 7.8%

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,150,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the October 31st total of 3,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ISRG shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $512.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $604.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $536.61.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ ISRG opened at $541.71 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $512.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $471.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.95 billion, a PE ratio of 87.09, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 1.38. Intuitive Surgical has a fifty-two week low of $304.50 and a fifty-two week high of $552.00.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 28.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Desantis sold 238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.50, for a total value of $113,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,115. This trade represents a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Gary Loeb sold 300 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $142,500.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 1,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $757,625. This represents a 15.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,023 shares of company stock valued at $26,384,247. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISRG. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter worth $26,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 60 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 415.4% in the second quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 67 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter worth about $37,000. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.