Intuitive Surgical recovers after analysts defend stock

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), which develops robotic surgery tools, is rallying after several research firms issued positive notes about the stock today. Intuitive Surgical's shares tumbled in late trading yesterday after Bloomberg reported that the FDA was examining the safety of the company's robots. However, the stock's retreat yesterday was overdone, a number of research analysts wrote in notes to investors earlier today. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Jeremy Feffer wrote that there was a "gross overreaction" to the news from investors and he upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. There is only limited risk that the FDA's investigation will result in significant penalties against Intuitive Surgical, according to Feffer, who added that the company's flagship da Vinci robots produce superior outcomes and much lower complication rates compared with open surgeries in which they are not used. Meanwhile, a Goldman Sachs analyst wrote that the decline in Intuitive Surgical's stock yesterday created a buying opportunity, as robotic surgery is likely to prevail over traditional surgery in the long run. The firm maintained a $715 price target and Buy rating on the shares. In mid-morning trading, Intuitive Surgical jumped $38, or 7.5%, to $548. The company's stock sank about $60 yesterday in late trading, closing at $509.89.