Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Short Interest Up 8.5% in October

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, a growth of 8.5% from the October 15th total of 3,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $512.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $538.00 price target (up from $495.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $503.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $524.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jamie Samath sold 269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.89, for a total transaction of $145,230.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,816.73. The trade was a 2.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Gary Loeb sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 1,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $757,625. This trade represents a 15.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,178 shares of company stock valued at $45,897,071 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 200.0% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 140.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 60 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 415.4% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 67 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG traded up $4.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $531.64. 1,268,011 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,460,418. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $500.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $459.58. Intuitive Surgical has a 52 week low of $304.50 and a 52 week high of $544.38. The company has a market cap of $189.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.39.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 28.51%. On average, analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.