Shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) fell just after the company put the bandages on a difficult but overall successful 2022. As of this writing, the stock is now down by 8% over the last 12 months, in line with the performance of the S&P 500 . The reason for its recent dip? Management's lackluster outlook for 2023, which calls for moderate growth but rising expenses.
If it were any other healthcare company, the market might be highly displeased -- but this is robotic surgery pioneer Intuitive Surgical we're talking about. It's a wonderful business, and it is making investments today that could eventually lead to an acceleration in profitable expansion. Does that make Intuitive stock a top healthcare buy to kick off 2023?
Intuitive Surgical's revenues rose 9% in 2022 to $6.22 billion, and 79% of that revenue was recurring in nature -- primarily from sales of instruments and accessories for its Da Vinci robotic surgical systems, software, and services, and lease payments on the robots. That bodes well for Intuitive's ability to keep expanding at a consistent pace.
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Is Intuitive Surgical a Top Healthcare Stock to Buy for 2023?