Vicarious Surgical (NYSE:RBOT) posted third-quarter results today that fell short of the consensus forecast on Wall Street.
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based robotics technology developer reported a net loss of $24.7 million, or -$0.20 per share, for the three months that ended Sept. 30, 2022.
That’s a narrower loss for the pre-revenue company than the company’s $45.1 million loss in Q3 2021, or-$0.49 per share.
The company said its cash burn rate for its latest quarter was $14.5 million. In addition, it had $126.8 million in cash and equivalents at the end of September.
Operating expenses increased to $22.2 million from $5.2 million in Q3 2021, while R&D spending increased to $12.1 million for the quarter compared to $5.2 million in the prior-year period.
“During the third quarter, our team completed the integration phase of the Beta 2 system build, and I’m incredibly encouraged by the results of our cadaveric testing. We look forward to showcasing the finalized system at our upcoming investor and analyst event in December,” Vicarious Surgical CEO Adam Sachs said in a news release.
The company’s technology uses proprietary human-like surgical robots combined with 3D visualization to transport surgeons inside the patient to perform minimally invasive surgery. Updates to the previous Beta 1 system focus on ergonomic changes for surgeon comfort — and improved 3D visualization, sensing and motion capabilities.
Investors await Vicarious Surgical’s next milestone
BTIG analysts Ryan Zimmerman and Sam Durno kept their Buy rating on the company’s stock. “We believe investors are awaiting clarity on RBOT’s clinical trial, but we also believe RBOTs next clinical milestone will be its investor event on [Dec. 6], where they will showcase the Beta 2 robotic system,” they said.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were –$0.18, while analysts were looking for EPS of –$0.15.
Investors reacted by sending RBOT shares down nearly 5% to $3.53 in trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — was roughly flat.
The company went public in September 2021, closing at $12.60 on the day of its IPO.
