Robotic-assisted surgery provider Intuitive Surgical is the IBD Stock Of The Day. ISRG stock has been trading tightly, holding up even as the coronavirus pandemic leaves the state of elective surgery in limbo.
Intuitive Surgical was in a three-weeks-tight pattern with a 704.10 buy point. ISRG stock made it a four-weeks-tight at Friday's close when rangebound shares dipped 0.9% to close at 684.52 on the stock market today.
Shares could form a flat base if the trend continues.
The tamer trade action for the stock comes after ISRG stock last month extended a breakout from a cup-with-handle base following its second-quarter earnings report.
The company's second-quarter results came in far above analysts' expectations. However, profit and sales fell, as the coronavirus pandemic kept people away from elective procedures. The pandemic weighed on ISRG stock for part of the year, as governments around the world shifted resources away from those procedures to fight the crisis.
ISRG Stock: Dealing With Covid-19 Effects
Intuitive is best known for its robotic da Vinci Surgical System. That system — a set of enhanced surgical instruments that a surgeon operates via a console — is used for procedures in urology, gynecology and elsewhere. Procedures using that system fell 19% during that quarter, as patients put off operations. Shipments of the system fell 35%.
In the U.S., the company will be navigating a patchwork of states with different levels of coronavirus cases and restrictions.
"The impact and timing of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business differs by geography," Intuitive said in its second-quarter earnings release. "In the U.S., for example, while da Vinci procedures recovered a significant portion of the pre-COVID-19 levels, the resurgence of COVID-19 in some states has, and will likely continue to, adversely impact the Company's procedure volumes."
ISRG stock has a 91 Composite Rating. IBD generally advises investors to focus on stocks with ratings in the 90s. The EPS Rating for the stock is 77.
The relative strength line of ISRG stock has dipped from highs reached late last month.
