Intuitive Surgical Stock Hits All-Time High After Prelim Q4 Results Outpace Expectations: Retail Goes All In

Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. surged over 7% on Wednesday to an all-time high, propelled by robust preliminary fourth-quarter (Q4) and full-year 2024 results that exceeded Wall Street expectations. 

Heavy trading activity and bullish retail sentiment on platforms like Stocktwits added momentum to the rally.

The company projects Q4 revenue to climb 25% year-on-year to $2.41 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates of $2.2 billion, and full-year revenue to rise 17% to $8.35 billion, also topping the consensus estimate of $8.15 billion. 

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Intuitive is known for its flagship da Vinci surgical and Ion endoluminal systems, which have become central to its dominance in minimally invasive procedures worldwide.

Intuitive said worldwide da Vinci procedure volumes grew 18% in Q4 and 17% in 2024, driven by U.S. general surgery (+19%) and international cancer procedures (+23%).

The company, however, expects only 13%-16% growth in da Vinci procedures for 2025 as patient backlogs from the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer significant.

ISRG sentiment and message volume Jan 15 as of 1:30 pm ET | source: Stocktwits

On Stocktwits, sentiment surged to 'extremely bullish' on Wednesday afternoon, making Intuitive one of the top 25 trending symbols.

Some retail investors anticipate a buyback or stock split, while others celebrated its milestone of achieving a $200 billion market cap after "another strong quarter and year."

Wall Street echoed this optimism. RBC Capital Markets raised its price target to $641 from $611, and Leerink Partners lifted its target to $590 from $548.

Intuitive has consistently outperformed profit and revenue estimates over the past four quarters and is scheduled to release detailed Q4 results next week. 

However, its steep valuation — trading at 77.1x forward earnings and 93.5x past earnings — has raised concerns in some quarters.

Intuitive's shares have gained nearly 60% over the past year.

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