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Intuitive Surgical spending to drive future sales growth, says Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Craig Bijou reiterates an Overweight rating on Intuitive Surgical with a $620 price target following last night's Q4 results. The company delivered 19% procedure growth, largely driven by U.S. general surgery and worldwide urology, Bijou tells investors in a research note. However, management plans to increase operating expenditures by 20%-28% in 2019, which comes as a surprise, adds the analyst. He expects investors to have an initial negative reaction to the expected significant increase in spending, but thinks the company's investments will fuel future sales growth and accelerate its pipeline.

Intuitive Surgical price target lowered to $570 from $600 at Stifel. Stifel analyst Rick Wise said Intuitive Surgical's Q4 results were "as advertised," calling the company's more-intense-than anticipated 2019 operating expense growth guidance the biggest incremental update on the company's earnings conference call. The higher spending, potentially over multiple years, will require some "digestion" by the market, but this aggressive investment is "offensive" in nature and affirms the still largely untapped opportunity ahead, Wise tells investors. Given the OpEx spending guidance, Wise lowered his 2019 and 2020 EPS estimates and cut his price target on the stock to $570 from $600. While noting that the company does not provide specific EPS guidance, Wise added that based on his systems sales projections, management's provided procedure growth guidance would suggest a 2019 EPS range of $11.54-$11.83. He keeps a Buy rating on Intuitive Surgical shares.

Intuitive Surgical earnings selloff a buying opportunity, says Piper Jaffray. Piper Jaffray analyst JP McKim recommends using today's post-earnings selloff in shares of Intuitive Surgical as a buying opportunity. The company's 20%-28% operating expenditure growth outlook for 2019 is "likely to get all the attention and drag on the stock," McKim tells investors in a research note. If history repeats itself again, buying on the dip post the Q4 call in 2017 would have produced a 12 month return of 89% and buying last year's Q4 dip would have returned 22% over the last year, adds the analyst. He thinks Intuitive is likely being conservative "on all fronts" with its guidance and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares with a $625 price target.