With Intuitive Surgical Stock Surging, Have You Considered The Downside?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) stock is up 26.4% in 21 trading days. The rally reflects renewed optimism around its da Vinci 5 adoption and robust procedure growth, but big moves like this often invite a tougher question: is the stock truly resilient when markets reverse?

Before judging its downturn reslience, let’s look at where Intuitive Surgical stands today.

• Size: Intuitive Surgical is a $196 Bil company with $9.6 Bil in revenue currently trading at $549.51.
• Fundamentals: Last 12 month revenue growth of 22.2% and operating margin of 29.3%.
• Liquidity: Has Debt to Equity ratio of 0.0 and Cash to Assets ratio of 0.25
• Valuation: Intuitive Surgical stock is currently trading at P/E multiple of 71.3 and P/EBIT multiple of 69.6
• Has returned (median) 44.8% within a year following sharp dips since 2010. See ISRG Dip Buy Analysis.

These metrics point to a Very Strong operational performance, alongside Very High valuation – making the stock Attractive but Volatile.

That brings us to the key consideration for investors chasing this rally: how resilient is ISRG stock if markets turn south? While we like to ride the momentum when the fundamentals check out (see Buy or Sell ISRG Stock) – we stay wary of potential bull traps.

This is where our downturn resilience framework comes in. Suppose ISRG stock falls 20-30% to $385 – can investors comfortably hold on? Turns out, the stock saw an impact slightly better than the S&P 500 index during various economic downturns, based on (a) how much the stock fell and, (b) how quickly it recovered. You can’t predict what happens to individual stocks, but you can prepare. See how High Quality Portfolio helps you.

Below are the details, but before that, as a quick background: ISRG provides innovative surgical systems that empower physicians to perform complex minimally invasive procedures, improving quality and access to healthcare worldwide.

2022 Inflation Shock

• ISRG stock fell 49.9% from a high of $365.42 on 8 November 2021 to $183.06 on 14 October 2022 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 25.4% for the S&P 500.
• However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 18 January 2024
• Since then, the stock increased to a high of $610.45 on 22 January 2025 , and currently trades at $549.51

 
2020 Covid Pandemic

• ISRG stock fell 40.5% from a high of $206.10 on 20 February 2020 to $122.58 on 23 March 2020 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% for the S&P 500.
• However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 17 July 2020

 
2018 Correction

• ISRG stock fell 24.3% from a high of $191.58 on 1 October 2018 to $144.96 on 24 December 2018 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 19.8% for the S&P 500.
• However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 21 March 2019

 
2008 Global Financial Crisis

• ISRG stock fell 75.9% from a high of $39.32 on 10 April 2008 to $9.48 on 2 March 2009 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 56.8% for the S&P 500.
• However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 1 March 2010

 
It is a good thing to keep in mind how low ISRG could go during a downturn. And you should also check how the stock fared when compared with the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 — the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.