If you're looking to buy growth stocks, you have to balance price versus value, since growing businesses are often afforded premium prices. But, sometimes, investors put good businesses on sale.
That looks like the case with Dividend King consumer staples giant Coca-Cola (KO 3.46%) and medical device maker Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 0.97%), according to the majority of the Wall Street analysts who cover them.
Here's what you need to know.
Coca-Cola is trading hands at a fair to cheap price
There are 25 analysts who cover Coca-Cola, and 22 of them rate the stock a buy or strong buy. This means that nearly 90% of Wall Street thinks the beverage biant is worth adding to your portfolio right now. That's likely at least partly because the stock has sold off a little bit, down nearly 10% from its 52-week highs. It's not a huge drop, but it has made a notable difference on the valuation front.
To put some numbers on that, the company's price-to-sales (P/S), price-to-earnings (P/E), and price-to-book value (P/B) ratios are all below their five-year averages at the moment. While the dividend yield is only middle-of-the-road, historically speaking, it's a relatively attractive 3% or so. For reference, the S&P 500 index's yield is just 1.2%, and the average consumer staples stock's yield is 2.7%.
Overall, Coca-Cola looks reasonably priced to a little bit cheap. That's clearly enough to get covering analysts excited. It should probably get you excited, too, if you are a long-term dividend lover.
What you get when you buy Coca-Cola is, indeed, worth getting excited about. It's an industry-leading non-alcoholic beverage maker that happens to be one of the largest consumer staples companies in the world. It has also achieved Dividend King status, with over six decades' worth of annual dividend hikes. That's a record a company simply can't achieve without being well run.
You could easily argue that this is a glorious dividend growth stock that just so happens to be on sale right now. No wonder Wall Street recommends buying it.
Image source: Getty Images.
This drawdown is normal for Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical's shares have fallen a whopping 25% or so from their 52-week highs. But that's actually pretty normal for the stock, which has seen more than half a dozen similarly sized declines since it came public. That's not particularly shocking, though, because the surgical robot maker is a fast-growing business. Investors sometimes get ahead of themselves a little bit with growth stories like this one. That said, 21 of the 32 analysts covering it rate this medical device maker a buy or strong buy.
What's so special about Intuitive Surgical? It's still growing its installed base of surgical robots rather quickly, building up an annuity-like income stream in parts and services. To put a number on that, the company's installed base of robots grew 14% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, resulting in 17% more surgical procedures. With parts and services making up roughly 75% of revenues, every new robot installed is yet another long-term income stream to drive the top line higher over time.
So that's a normal drawdown for a stock that still has an attractive growth story to tell. That said, Intuitive Surgical doesn't pay a dividend, so it is a pure growth play. It is often afforded a premium to the broader market. While the stock isn't cheap on an absolute basis, its P/S, P/E, and P/B ratios are all below their five-year averages, suggesting it is cheap compared to its recent past. It's also clearly a growth stock that Wall Street analysts like right now.
Down, but not out, stocks you can buy and hold
With the S&P 500 index hovering around all-time highs, it can be hard to find stocks worth buying. However, that doesn't mean it is impossible. Coca-Cola's price pullback, while fairly modest, has analysts excited about the shares, as the Dividend King looks cheaper than it has in a while. The valuation story holds true with Intuitive Surgical, as well, even as it continues to rapidly expand its installed base, boosting its annuity-like parts and services business.
Not surprisingly, analysts like that story, too.
