Intuitive Surgical Rallies to Reward Congress Buyers

Shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG:US) are up almost 20% month-to-date (MTD) after the company delivered robust results for its first-quarter results.

The stock closed about 11% higher on Wednesday after the maker of Da Vinci surgical systems reported the stronger procedure growth in a decade. The worldwide procedure growth was reported at more than 26%, crushing the expected higher than 15%.

As a result, Intuitive Surgical delivered a profit per share of $1.23 on revenue of $1.7 billion to beat the $1.6 billion expected from analysts. Overall, sales rose 14% year-over-year as revenue from the Instruments and Accessories business unit surged 22% to $985.6 million.

For the first quarter, the company installed 312 surgical systems, ahead of the 281 expected. The Da Vinci Surgical System installed base now stands at 7,779, marking a year-over-year growth of more than 12%.

“Our core business was lifted by positive surgical trends and continued interest in robotic-assisted surgery when compared with other surgical approaches,” said Gary Guthart, Intuitive CEO. “We continue our focus on increased adoption, pursuit of expanded indications and product launches, excellence in supply and product quality, and increased productivity as we scale our business.”

The recent run-up in ISRG shares comes at the right time for some Congress members, namely Rep. Daniel Goldman. The Congressman invested tens of thousands of dollars in ISRG since the beginning of this year while the stock was trading below $250 per share.

For comparison purposes, ISRG shares closed at $298.57 on Wednesday and are up 13% year-to-date.