Intuitive Surgical shares rise amid takeover rumors

Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) stocks are up today on rumors that the company may be looking at a takeover from a larger player in medtech.

Shares have ticked up nearly 1%, up $7.11 at $769.45 today  due to the rumors, according to Seeking Alpha.

The Sunnyvale, Cali.-based company has seen its shares trend upwards steadily since the 4th quarter of 2015, with the exception of a correction in its last 4th quarter. Share value has risen over 70%, according to Seeking Alpha.

The news is good for Intuitive, as company officials in Jan. said they expected to see a slowdown in sales growth this year for da Vinci surgical robots despite posting Q4 earnings that topped Wall Street expectations.

Company officials cautioned during their earnings call with analysts that they expect da Vinci system procedures to grow 9% to 12% this year, down from the 15% growth seen in 2016.

Intuitive Surgical officials also expect increased investment in the company’s next generation of surgical robotics products, but the pipeline of future products isn’t expected to produce much revenue this year. For example, Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart reported compelling early clinical experience with the company’s flexible robotics platform to diagnose lung cancer, but no revenue is expected this year from the system.