Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), known for the Da Vinci surgical robot, already had a killer morning before the session had barely begun. It posted serious wins with its earnings report, and it carried right on into Wednesday’s session in a big way. In fact, Intuitive managed to hit a 52-week high in Wednesday’s trading at one point, despite the fact that it was down fractionally in the latter part of the day.
Naturally, the big winner for the day was the impressive earnings report Intuitive posted, featuring a revenue surge of around 16% against this time last year. However, it was the Da Vinci robot’s latest iteration, the Da Vinci 5, that really pulled investors in. In fact, the Da Vinci 5 was recently offered up to the Food and Drug Administration for approval, with its 510(k) application now sent. This comes at an excellent time, as more and more hospitals are turning to Da Vinci units in surgical procedures. That number is up about 21% against this time last year alone.
A Major Upgrade
The Da Vinci 5 is looking like a powerhouse in the making. Current reports suggest that the Da Vinci 5 will have 10,000 times the processing power of its predecessor, which in turn will drive data collection and analytics functions, among other things. With the applications now in the FDA’s hands, reports suggest that the Da Vinci could be in operating rooms by April. However, there are some signs that the Da Vinci 5 may not be ready when the FDA is, as some manufacturing troubles might slow up the launch a bit. Every month the Da Vinci 5 isn’t ready is an opportunity lost for Intuitive, especially given how fast its popularity is growing.
Is Intuitive Surgical a Buy or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on ISRG stock based on 13 Buys and five Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 51.71% rally in its share price over the past year, the average ISRG price target of $392.40 per share implies 6.15% upside potential.
