Intuitive Surgical drops on weaker demand for bariatric surgeries; ‘buy the dip’ says Truist

Investing.com — Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:) reported second quarter results that beat analyst expectations, driven by a rebound in elective surgeries following the lull during the pandemic when non-COVID-related procedures were held back.

Still, Intuitive Surgical stock was down about 5% in pre-market Friday, following the report as analysts flagged a continued decline in growth rates for bariatric surgery in the U.S.

Intuitive Surgical earnings per share of $1.42 on revenue of $1.76 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $1.33 on revenue of $1.74B.

“Our core business was lifted by positive surgical trends and continued interest in robotic-assisted surgery compared with other surgical approaches,” said Gary Guthart, Intuitive CEO.

The company shipped 331 da Vinci Surgical Systems, an increase of 13% compared with 279 in the second quarter of 2022.

Truist analysts see a buying opportunity in ISRH shares, following the after-earnings selloff.

“We braced for a sell-the-news reaction as ISRG had run into the print w/ elevating expectations. The buyside procedure bogey was ~23-24%, but that’s splitting hairs in our view, especially given the underpenetrated TAM. We recommend buying pullbacks (shrs down ~5-6% AMC), especially with EPS growth accelerating, numbers moving up and durable drivers in place for ISRG to sustain a well-above-avg mid-teens rev & EPS growth trajectory into the out-yrs. ISRG remains a preferred large-cap for us,” the analysts said in a client note.

Stifel analysts, who lifted the price target by $60 to $375 per share, added: “Multiple positive secular tailwinds continue to drive accelerated robotic adoption, making us very positive about the long-term ISRG outlook.”

Additional reporting by Senad Karaahmetovic