ISRG Stock Dives: How Covid Took A Swipe At Robotic Surgery Giant Intuitive Surgical

A resurgence in Covid cases weighed on Intuitive Surgical‘s (ISRG) second quarter, causing ISRG stock to plummet Thursday following the robotic surgery giant’s report.

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During the June quarter, there were fewer than usual surgeries performed using Intuitive Surgical’s bread-and-butter system, da Vinci. Procedure volume grew just 14%, down from 19% in the previous quarter. Further, Intuitive Surgical placed just 279 systems, a decrease of 15% year over year.

“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company’s business has, and continues to, differ by geography and region,” Intuitive Surgical said in a news release. “Covid-19 has had, and will likely continue to have, an adverse impact on the company’s procedure volumes.”

In late trading on today’s stock market, ISRG stock plunged 12% to near 197. Intuitive Surgical stock closed up 2.5% to 224.75.

ISRG Stock: Why Procedure Volume Matters

Procedure volume is a key metric for Intuitive Surgical. The firm sells or leases its robotic surgery systems, but makes most of its money by selling one-time instruments and accessories. With a lower number of procedures comes lighter instrument and accessory revenue.

Overall, Intuitive Surgical reported $1.52 billion in second-quarter sales, missing forecasts by $40 million, according to FactSet. Adjusted profit came in at $1.14 per share, below expectations for $1.20 a share. Sales grew 4% year over year, the fourth straight quarter of deceleration. Earnings sank about 12% after Q1’s 3% dip.

Still, revenue from instruments and accessories climbed more than 12% to $895.3 million. Revenue from system sales toppled about 15% to $375.1 million. Service sales jumped 10% to $251.7 million.

“Customer demand for procedures was healthy in the second quarter despite a challenging global environment,” Chief Executive Gary Guthart said in a written statement. “We remain focused on meeting that demand with high quality products and services while advancing our innovation programs.”

If the dive holds at Friday’s open, ISRG stock will turn around a three-day positive run and move close to its mid-June lows

Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.

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