NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. rose Tuesday after a Lazard Capital Markets analyst upgraded the stock to “Buy,” partly because he thinks Intuitive’s robotic surgical devices will be used in more gynecological procedures.
Sean Lavin raised his rating from “Hold,” and estimated the stock will rise more than 50 percent over the next year. Based on a survey conducted by his firm, Lavin said 73 percent of OB/GYNs are seeing greater interest in robotic surgical tools.
He said that could lead to $1.4 billion in installations for Intuitive, and $300 million in annual revenue on top of his current estimates. The company’s da Vinci surgical systems are used in heart and urologic surgeries, among other procedures.
In midday trading, the shares gained $4.46, or 3.9 percent, to $119.18.
