Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) shares have been in focus for its short interest.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company addresses a large market and has a strong pipeline that can deliver "durable growth," according to William Blair.

The Analyst: Brandon Vazquez initiated coverage of Intuitive Surgical with an Outperform rating.

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The Thesis: While the benefits of minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) are well established, most surgeries continue to be open for the want of better tools, Vazquez said in the initiation note.

"Intuitive is less than 10% penetrated in its long-term treatment opportunity and 30% into its currently serviceable opportunity," the analyst wrote.

"Coupled with what we believe will be more innovation through a next-gen multiport system and advanced software capabilities, we believe that Intuitive is well positioned to deliver on long-term growth expectations," he added.

ISRG Price Action: Shares of Intuitive Surgical rose by 1.16% to $243.61 in premarket trading on Thursday.