Dark Forest Capital Management LP Raises Stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 110.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,566 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $1,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $449,000. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,517,000. Sycomore Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 18,945 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $9,214,000 after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 16.8% during the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,843 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $630.00 to $605.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $475.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $560.00 to $688.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $598.95.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ:ISRG traded up $6.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $514.59. 2,015,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,614,265. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 1-year low of $367.39 and a 1-year high of $616.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $511.92 and its 200-day moving average is $532.42. The stock has a market cap of $183.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.55.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 27.81% and a return on equity of 14.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 4,635 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.60, for a total value of $2,626,191.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,955,015. This trade represents a 27.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jamie Samath sold 94 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.11, for a total transaction of $53,684.34. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,502,019.30. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,454 shares of company stock valued at $18,564,027. Company insiders own 0.70% 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.