Intuitive Surgical analyst raises eyebrows with new stock price target

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Intuitive Surgical analyst raises eyebrows with new stock price target originally appeared on TheStreet.
Jim Cramer wants answers.
The CNBC anchor and Mad Money maven wants to know why Deutsche Bank was being so rough on Intuitive Surgical () .
The investment firm downgraded the biotech to sell from hold and slashed its stock price target to $440 from $515.
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"This is quite a controversial call," Cramer said on CNBC's Squawk on The Street, "because this is a premier fast-growing company, premier super growth, and I want to find out more about it."
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company, founded in 1995, specializes in robotic-assisted surgery equipment, most notably the Da Vinci surgical systems, which use a minimally invasive approach.
Intuitive Surgical's shares were down 6.1% at last check but are up 25.4% from a year ago.
Deutsche Bank said in a note to investors on June 9 that remanufactured instruments are going to increasingly encroach on Intuitive's instruments and accessories segment over the next few years.
The investment firm expects a growing number of Intuitive's customers to explore adopting remanufactured instruments, given potentially significant profitability gains. The firm cited its discussions with multiple robotic surgery programs.
Remanufactured instruments are previously used surgical instruments that have been rigorously overhauled.
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Deutsche Bank says 46% of Intuitive's U.S. instruments and accessories revenue could be at risk of encroachment by third-party-remanufactured devices.
The firm's model assumes no material impact in 2026 but steadily increasing headwinds in 2027 and especially 2028.
Cramer begged to differ.
"This is a pristine company and people who know this company have been rewarded repeatedly by owning it," he said.
Just a few days earlier, on June 5, Erste Group analyst Hans Engel upgraded Intuitive Surgical to buy from hold, according to The Fly.
The company's operating margin should widen again in 2026 and profit growth should increase significantly, the analyst said.
Engel said that he expected the share price to rise further due to Intuitive's expected acceleration in growth.
On April 2 Intuitive Surgical beat Wall Street's first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with sales increasing 19% from a year ago to $2.25 billion.
"Our business performed well in the first quarter of the year with physicians using our products at the high end of our expectations, driven by strong procedure growth in core general surgery in the United States, and strong procedures outside the United States," CEO Gary Guthart told analysts. "New system placements in the quarter were solid with particular strength in the U.S."
First-quarter 2025 instruments and accessories revenue increased 18% from a year earlier to $1.37 billion, driven primarily by roughly 17% growth in da Vinci procedure volume and about 58% volume growth in the Ion procedure, which gives doctors a nonsurgical way to biopsy lung nodules."Mad Money" marked its 20th anniversary this year and Cramer, who co-founded TheStreet in 1996, said Intuitive Surgical was the eighth best performer of the 'Mad Money era.'
"This is another name that we found early on," he said. "I first interviewed someone from the company back in July of 2005 when the stock was trading at a split-adjusted price of $5 and change."
He added that the company was now a '$184 billion behemoth, and this stock has given you more than 10,000% gain since the show got started."
"I think this is as relevant as ever," Cramer said. "I'm proud to be a huge supporter of this.'
The company recently said that effective July 1, Guthart would become executive chairman while Dave Rosa, currently president, would become CEO.
On May 22, Citi raised its price target on Intuitive Surgical to $650 from $590 and kept a buy rating on the shares.
The firm updated models in medical technology following the Q1 reports.
Underlying fundamentals in the sector appear intact, including volumes, pricing, and capital spending, the investment firm said.
In March, The Robot Report said that while Intuitive Surgical. remains the leading surgical robotics provider 'other companies with savvy strategies are generating buzz and raising money.'
The report listed several companies, including Medtronic () , Stryker () and CMR Surgical, which reportedly has brought in advisers to explore a potential sale.Intuitive Surgical analyst raises eyebrows with new stock price target first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 9, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.