Is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) a good artificial intelligence stock to buy now?
We recently published a list of The 10 best artificial intelligence (AI) stocks to buy according to financial media. In this article, we take a look at how Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) compares to other artificial intelligence stocks recommended by financial media.
CEO says AI will “continue to add value”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now a technology that most people are becoming more and more familiar with. AI permeates nearly every aspect of life, from the ads you see on social media apps to the self-driving cars that many consumers are switching to. It is no exaggeration to say that AI has become an integral part of everyday life for every person who uses technology today. Given the widespread use and application of AI technology, this area of the market is an exciting area to invest in today.
With the recent earnings release from major technology companies, many investors are wondering what role AI plays in technology markets today and how it will evolve. On August 2, Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi spoke about this very development on CNBC’s “The Exchange.” Here are some of his comments:
“I think there are two things happening. On the one hand, it’s the macroeconomy, which has been in turmoil for a long time and now seems to be coming to an end, which we see in the labor market, and people see it in inflation and the decline in the 10-year forecast and so on. On the other hand, we see AI. People are very excited, they know it’s absolutely going to change the whole world and that the hyperscalers have made huge investments in AI. But for us as a company, we’ve been investing in data and AI for 10 years, and we’re seeing steady revenue growth and customers benefiting from it, but there’s been a huge capital deployment… I think AI is going to be great, it’s going to continue to create value.”
Ghodsi’s comments highlight the current market sentiment on AI, which is that this area of technology cannot be ignored and must be invested in to the maximum. However, given this market sentiment, many investors may be wondering whether the huge investments in AI are justified or whether we are merely in an “AI bubble” that will definitely burst. However, given the immense value inherent in AI, many investors believe that such huge capital investments are indeed justified.
West Coast smartphone giant: AI stock or not?
Given the above, it is not surprising that several large technology companies are involved in the race to invest in and develop AI technologies. However, Apple is absent from most lists of the best AI stocks compiled by financial journalists. Many investors are starting to notice that the company is lagging behind other large technology companies that are rapidly developing AI technologies. On August 6, Walter Piecyk of Lightshed Partners shared his views on the smartphone maker’s AI moves on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“I signed up as a developer for the latest development or the latest version of iOS 18. I was using the smart series – not much better… There’s obviously a lot of work that needs to be done between now and the official release. I just don’t see it having a big impact this year or next year.”
Investors may be better off moving into purer AI stocks. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best AI stocks according to financial media to provide insight into which companies are actually thriving in the AI space today. Our list includes some of the best AI stocks to buy according to analysts, as well as some of the companies offering the best AI SEO tools in 2024.
Our methodology
We selected AI stocks that made it onto the top AI stock lists of various financial news outlets, including Forbes, Motley Fool, Nasdaq, US News, and NerdWallet. We then shortlisted the stocks and ranked them from low to high based on the number of hedge funds that hold shares in them, using Insider Monkey’s hedge fund data for the first quarter of 2024.
Why do we care about the stocks hedge funds invest in? The reason is simple: Our research shows that we can outperform the market by mimicking the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks each quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (See more details here.)
A medical team performs minimally invasive surgery using a da Vinci surgical system.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)
Number of hedge fund owners: 79
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) is a medical equipment provider based in Sunnyvale, California. The company focuses on improving robot-assisted surgical procedures using artificial intelligence. In July 2023, the company launched its first AI-based digital tool, Case Insights, which allows surgeons to examine their procedure data and adjust their approaches to improve performance for future patients. At the launch of this product, the company’s CEO Gary Guthart noted that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)’s AI technologies could help reduce surgeon training times and also improve the efficiency of surgical programs to reduce costs. Considering the revolutionary ideas that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) is pushing in the medical AI space, this stock is worth buying for AI investors looking for a unique market tool.
In the first quarter, 79 hedge funds with a total value of $6.4 billion held shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG). ARK Investment Management was the company’s largest shareholder with 33,280 shares.
Baron Funds mentioned Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Intuitive Surgical, Inc. “Intuitive Corp. (NASDAQ:ISRG) makes the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic surgical system for minimally invasive procedures. The stock performed well on excitement about the company’s new robotic surgical system, the da Vinci 5, which offers improved imaging, force feedback and other enhancements. We continue to believe that Intuitive has enduring competitive advantages and will remain the market leader in robotic surgery. We believe the company still has a lot of growth potential as more procedures are performed using the company’s devices.”
Total ISRG takes 10th place on our list of the best artificial intelligence stocks to buy according to financial media. You can visit The 10 best artificial intelligence (AI) stocks to buy according to financial media to see the other artificial intelligence stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we recognize ISRG’s potential as an investment, we believe AI stocks promise higher returns and do so in a shorter time frame. If you’re looking for an AI stock that shows more promise than ISRG but trades at less than 5x earnings, read our report on the cheapest AI stock.
READ MORE: Analyst sees a new $25 billion “opportunity” for NVIDIA And Jim Cramer recommends these 10 stocks in June.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published on Insider Monkey.
