What happened
Next-generation medical device maker Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -1.69%) was a standout stock among its peers on Friday. On the back of a bullish analyst note and price target raise, the company's share price closed by over 3% higher, nearly doubling the percentage gain of the S&P 500 index on the day.
So what
Before market open that morning, Stifel's Rick Wise upped his Intuitive price target to $260 per share from the previous $250. Wise maintained his buy recommendation on the stock as he did so.
Wise's adjustment is based on more detailed modeling for the company's revenue both in the U.S. and abroad. This produced higher sales and per-share earnings estimates for 2023. Contributing to the dynamic is sales of Intuitive's robotic lung biopsy platform Ion, sales of which are tracking with the higher range of his estimates.
The Stifel prognosticator's new target might sound familiar to some watchers of the specialty healthcare stock. That's because, in mid-August, Wise's peer Adam Maeder at Piper Sandler also raised his price target to that amount.
This lift was more modest, as Maeder previously estimated Intuitive's fair value at $255. The Piper Sandler analyst is particularly encouraged by the potential of Intuitive's da Vinci X, for which the company is apparently developing a new hardware component.
Now what
In general, bullishness is returning to Intuitive's stock. The company struggled during the pandemic, as many would-be patients postponed elective surgeries, but that trend is melting away. We shouldn't be surprised if the stock sees further gains in the near future.
