Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Stock

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $640.00 to $711.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ISRG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $549.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $489.00 to $502.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $583.83.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $584.05 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical has a 12 month low of $364.17 and a 12 month high of $616.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $546.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.38. The stock has a market cap of $208.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.90, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.39.

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, CEO Gary S. Guthart sold 18,151 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.63, for a total value of $9,286,596.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,391,166.97. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Desantis sold 188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.52, for a total transaction of $95,225.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,788,899.12. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,475 shares of company stock worth $22,070,807 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Surgical

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth $558,807,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 49,383.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,090,619 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $535,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,415 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 8.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,971,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,389,765,000 after purchasing an additional 838,793 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 15,322.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 555,661 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $272,980,000 after purchasing an additional 552,058 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,050,121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $7,393,673,000 after buying an additional 210,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.