Here's Why You Should Invest In Intuitive Surgical Stock Now

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) is well poised for growth on improving adoption of da Vinci Surgical System, strong international presence and solid recurring revenue base.

Shares of Intuitive Surgical have gained 18.7% compared with the industry’s growth of 15% in a year’s time. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index has rallied 23.8% in the same timeframe.

The company, with a market capitalization of $68.09 billion, designs, manufactures and markets the da Vinci surgical system and related instruments and accessories. Notably, the da Vinci surgical system is an advanced robot-assisted surgical system. It anticipates earnings to improve 11.8% over the next five years. Moreover, it has beat estimates in the trailing four quarters by 8.3%, on average.

Let’s take a closer look at the factors that substantiate the company’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

What’s Favoring the Stock?

Intuitive Surgical’s robot-based da Vinci surgical system enables minimally-invasive surgery, which reduces risks associated with open surgery. The company continues to gain from this system, which in turn bolsters overall performance.

In third-quarter 2019, da Vinci procedures improved 20% globally compared with the prior-year quarter. The upside was driven by healthy growth in U.S. General Surgery. In the third quarter, Intuitive Surgical placed 275 da Vinci surgical systems, with the installed base growing 12% year over year. In fact, it now anticipates 2019 procedure growth to be 17-18% compared with the previously anticipated rise of 16-17%.

Intuitive Surgical is gradually gaining prominence in markets outside the United States. In third-quarter 2019, international revenues rose 36% year over year, owing to solid show by the Instruments & Accessories segment.

Notably, the segment grew on solid procedure growth and customer buying patterns. Intuitive Surgical placed 80 systems in third-quarter 2019 compared with 90 units in third-quarter 2018. Of these, 36 were in Europe, 27 in Japan and 10 in China.

Intuitive Surgical’s business model ensures that it continues to generate revenues from initial capital sales of da Vinci Surgical Systems, and subsequent sales of instruments, accessories and services. In the last reported quarter, total recurring revenues were $817 million, up 24% year over year and accounting for a whopping 72% of total revenues.

Recurring revenues, as portion of total revenues, continue to grow at a much higher rate compared with system sales. This ensures a steady stream of income, even in testing times. Moreover, Intuitive Surgical operates in a niche MedTech market, with no direct competition, which is a major positive.

Which Way Are Estimates Headed?

For 2020, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $5 billion, indicating an improvement of 11.7% from the year-ago quarter. The same for earnings stands at $13.83 per share, suggesting growth of 8.4% from the year-ago reported figure.

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ:CERN) , HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) and Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Cerner’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 13.6%.

HealthEquity’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 25%.

Veeva’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 21.9%.

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