Equities research analysts at William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating on the medical equipment provider's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ISRG. Barclays lifted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $235.00 to $298.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $265.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $245.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $316.00 to $279.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.83.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $240.81 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $242.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.16. The company has a market cap of $84.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.29. Intuitive Surgical has a 52-week low of $180.07 and a 52-week high of $308.97.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 21.25% and a return on equity of 11.27%. Intuitive Surgical's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, EVP David J. Rosa sold 45,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total value of $11,280,113.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,385 shares in the company, valued at $31,412,704.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Fredrik Widman sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.77, for a total value of $27,929.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,605 shares in the company, valued at $386,435.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David J. Rosa sold 45,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total transaction of $11,280,113.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,412,704.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,396 shares of company stock worth $20,438,478. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISRG. RB Capital Management LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 4.4% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,735 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 0.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 946,709 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $285,603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,233 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 2.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,089 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $6,362,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 576.7% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 406 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 50.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 418 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 81.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc engages in the provision of robotic-assisted surgical solutions and invasive care through a comprehensive ecosystem of products and services. Its products include Da Vinci Surgical and Ion Endoluminal systems. The company was founded by Frederic H. Moll, John Gordon Freund, and Robert G.

Further Reading

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
• Why Wall Street Loves These 3 Penny Stocks
• Low Volume Bunge Plunge Presents an Opportunity
• Carvana May Be Able To Reach Profitability This Year
• 3 Leading Dividend Stocks Expected To Grow Earnings
• Are Homebuilders Ready To Rally If Fed Rate Hikes Slow?

Receive News & Ratings for Intuitive Surgical Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Intuitive Surgical and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.