(Bloomberg) – Intuitive Surgical Inc. joined a handful of U.S. healthcare companies to reach $ 100 billion in market value on Wednesday, fueled by strong earnings in the first quarter and an optimal prospect for recovery after Covid-19.
The company, whose da Vinci robotic system is designed to facilitate minimally invasive procedures, rose 9.9% to a record $ 891.38, the best day since March 2020. It joins Medtronic Plc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. among health businesses to obscure the $ 100 billion mark. CVS Health Corp. also ended Wednesday’s trading just above the threshold.
Intuitively, over the past year, it rose nearly 80% as investors piled back into companies likely to withstand the storm of Covid-19, giving it a market value of about $ 106 billion. Strong results from the company, along with the heavyweights of medical devices, Abbott Laboratories and Edwards Lifesciences Corp., have shown investors that elective operations are returning faster than expected as the U.S. economy reopens.
The company’s stronger-than-expected robotic system installations in the first quarter provided more evidence that hospital spending remains ‘fairly robust’, indicating that medical centers are prepared for the looming volume recovery, writes Deutsche Bank analyst Imron Zafar , in a note to customers.
Zafar continued the question ‘through a quarter-tailwind of the large backlog of delayed surgeries and delayed diagnosis / referrals over key segments such as prostatectomy and colorectal bowel.
Most analysts covering the company are also optimistic. More than half have a buy recommendation on the stock, eight research firms have a neutral stance and only two have a sell rating, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
(Updates share motion throughout.)
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