Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) gained after first-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates, fueled by sales of its da Vinci Xi robotic surgery device.
The stock jumped 7.8% to US$469.41 at 12:06 p.m.
Intuitive Surgical yesterday said after the market close that net income rose to US$288mln, or US$2.44 per share on an adjusted basis, from US$180.8mln, or US$1.57 a share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of US$1.99.
The company also posted $848mln in revenue, a 25% increase from the year-ago quarter and beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $777mln.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company said it shipped 185 da Vinci systems in the first three months of 2018, about 39% more than a year earlier. Intuitive got the first-of-its-kind clearance for its robotic surgical system from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2000.
Surgeons who tout the tech say it’s given them a far clearer view of what’s happening inside the body and greater control over their instruments.
The da Vinci device, previously only cleared for prostatectomy and nephrectomy in Japan, is now approved for 12 other procedures within the specialties of general surgery, gynecology and cardiothoracic surgery. They were granted "national reimbursement" status, which means that the Japanese healthcare system provides economic incentives to convert procedures in these categories to robotics.