High-beta stocks have started to gain favor with investors after getting demolished during the vicious bear market that took the S&P 500 down to 666. Many aggressive growth investors got so burned that they are either out of the market or have given up looking for growth stocks. For those looking for potential winners, I have a name that stands a good chance of outperforming: Intuitive Surgical (NasdaqGS: ISRG).

The stock should sound familiar to momentum and growth investors as it was a darling before the market cratered. I believe the stock will once again have its day in the sun. The company makes the successful da Vinci Surgical System which is a robot-assisted system used in many heart surgeries. The stock is trading at about $150, which is less than half of its 52-week high. There are signs that it could rise from here.

First of all, I love the company’s management team. Despite hospitals making severe spending cutbacks, ISRG was able to grow its revenues 11% year-over-year in the first quarter. Procedures grew by 60% and costs were contained well. A less-skilled management team would have let costs get out of hand and not be able to grow profits in a tough environment. One of my favorite stats from the recent quarter is that recurring revenues grew by a healthy 36% to $121 million. Lonnie Smith, Chairman and CEO of Intuitive Surgical, said, "Despite the challenging economic environment and reduced hospital spending, procedures performed with the da Vinci surgical system continued to demonstrate relatively high growth."

I also like management’s commitment to be shareholder friendly. In March, the Board of Directors authorized a stock buyback of up to $300 million. The company retired 1.4 million shares back in March, which shows the authorization is not just idle talk. Fewer shares outstanding increases earnings per share as the same earnings are spread out among fewer shares.

A lot of bears are betting against the stock. 23.5% of the shares are sold short, which is a mammoth short interest. It is has the third largest percentage of short shares in the entire S&P 500. This could be good news for the bulls if there is a short squeeze, which will provide a lot of rocket fuel for an upward surge. Normally, I would be nervous with such a large short position, but the fundamentals and prospects of the company are more than enough to comfort me.

The bears will point to declining earnings estimates and low revenue growth given the company’s valuations. Over the past month, next year’s earnings estimates have dropped 14 cents to $5.91 per share. That would put next year’s price/earnings ratio right around 25x. This is certainly not the cheapest stock out there, but you get what you pay for. Earnings estimates have been dropping due to hospitals temporarily cutting back on their spending due to the weak economy. I believe the stock’s huge drop from about $333 has largely discounted this. Once hospitals resume their spending as the economy improves, this stock could easily surpass the $200 level.