Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,264,956 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 306,317 shares during the quarter. Intuitive Surgical makes up about 1.0% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $626,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 532 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 62.0% in the first quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 39,299 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $19,464,000 after acquiring an additional 15,044 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 267,186 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,329,000 after buying an additional 11,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 1.1% in the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $529.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $189.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.62, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $523.08 and its 200 day moving average is $538.95. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a one year low of $413.82 and a one year high of $616.00.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 27.81% and a return on equity of 14.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ISRG has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $510.00 to $470.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $684.00 to $635.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $515.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $605.00 to $590.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.95.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, EVP Gary Loeb sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.18, for a total value of $872,406.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,152,089.10. This represents a 43.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Desantis sold 11,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.22, for a total transaction of $5,763,494.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,224 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,925.28. The trade was a 68.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,543 shares of company stock valued at $8,375,072 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.