Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Short Interest Up 6.9% in December

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,700,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark Brosius sold 2,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.00, for a total transaction of $1,095,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,595. The trade was a 88.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $95,225.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,788,899.12. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,190 shares of company stock worth $25,012,927. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Surgical

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the third quarter worth about $558,807,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 49,383.6% during the 3rd 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 lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 15,322.2% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 555,661 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $272,980,000 after buying an additional 552,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 40,221.4% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 266,121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 265,461 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $521.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $532.03 and a 200-day moving average of $489.68. Intuitive Surgical has a 12 month low of $320.26 and a 12 month high of $556.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.91 billion, a PE ratio of 83.92, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.38.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 13.41%. On average, research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ISRG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $495.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $489.00 to $502.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $538.00 target price (up previously from $495.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $535.00 to $561.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $554.17.

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.