Strategic Planning Group LLC Lowers Stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Strategic Planning Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,245 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,774 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $7,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,599,661 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,026,776,000 after acquiring an additional 263,828 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,728,492 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,456,223,000 after acquiring an additional 116,034 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,889,439 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,739,475,000 after acquiring an additional 40,702 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,227,472 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,451,362,000 after acquiring an additional 739,444 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,209,137 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,817,527,000 after acquiring an additional 321,759 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Intuitive Surgical

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles continue to frame Intuitive Surgical as a high-quality growth company with a strong competitive moat, and Zacks highlighted the stock as a solid growth choice. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains generally constructive, with reports noting “buy” or “outperform” ratings and a consensus that still leans to Moderate Buy, suggesting Wall Street remains bullish on the long-term story. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares at $446.95 in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which is notable but not necessarily a bearish signal because the trade was pre-scheduled. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article also notes that short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so there is no clear evidence of a rising bearish bet against the stock. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment has been hurt by renewed concern over the FDA’s Class I recall classification for SureForm stapler reloads, which raises safety and litigation-risk worries and can weigh on the shares. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling across multiple executives has added to caution, with the latest sale reinforcing the impression that company insiders are lightening exposure rather than buying. Article title

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, SVP Mark Brosius sold 2,362 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.68, for a total value of $1,177,882.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,308.72. The trade was a 39.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Myriam Curet sold 421 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.96, for a total transaction of $208,378.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,438.64. This represents a 50.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,201 shares of company stock valued at $3,034,567. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ISRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $550.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $660.00 to $585.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $650.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $630.00 to $560.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.91.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ISRG opened at $420.06 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $469.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $517.03. The company has a market cap of $148.77 billion, a PE ratio of 50.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.51. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 52-week low of $417.74 and a 52-week high of $603.88.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a medical technology company focused on the design, manufacture and service of robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company is best known for its da Vinci surgical systems, which enable minimally invasive procedures by translating a surgeon’s hand movements into finer, scaled motions of small instruments inside the patient. Intuitive’s business centers on supplying hospitals and surgical centers with systems, instruments and related technologies that aim to improve precision, visualization and control in the operating room.

In addition to its core surgical platforms, Intuitive markets a portfolio of reusable and disposable instruments, accessories, and proprietary software, and provides training, servicing and clinical support to its customers.