(By Balachander) Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) is expected to post an increase in fourth-quarter earnings spurred by sales growth of its robotic surgical systems.
Wall Street analysts, on average, expect ISRG's earnings per share to increase 9.6 percent to $4.11 on revenue growth of 17.50 percent to $584 million for the three month period.
Sunnyvale, California-based Intuitive Surgical, which is engaged in in minimally invasive robotic surgery business, is scheduled to report its quarterly numbers on Jan.22.
For four straight quarters, Intuitive Surgical has posted double-digit revenue increases.
For the full year, the company is projected to earn $14.87 a share on revenue jumping 22.50 percent to $2.15 billion.
During the last month, three analysts have recommended ISRG as "Strong Buy" and five analysts gave "Buy" rating, while seven analysts gave "Hold" rating on the stock. There is no analyst to recommend "Sell" on the stock.
In the preceding third quarter, the company posted a 50 percent jump in earnings as continued adoption of da Vinci surgery procedures and higher da Vinci Surgical System sales drove revenue growth of 20 percent.
A one-time tax benefit also boosted prior quarter results. The company earned $183 million or $4.46 a share on revenue of $538 million for the third quarter.
As of Sept. 30, 2012, the company noted there were 2,462 da Vinci Systems installed in over 1,936 hospitals worldwide. The company's da Vinci System allows surgeons to perform even complex procedures, like heart valve and cancer surgery.
The stock has trading in the 52-week range of $429.26 to $594.89.