Intuitive Surgical falls as Obamacare concerns rekindle medtech demand debate
ISRG•Peers mostly lower as analysts question the selloff
Stryker SYK.N shares fell about 2%, while other medtech firms Boston Scientific BSX.N slipped 1% and Medtronic MDT.N was marginally down. Abbott was up 3%.
Intuitive's shares fell to $363.91. The selloff appeared "increasingly overblown," Leerink Partners analyst Mike Kratky said, even as insurance-related changes add uncertainty to U.S. procedure growth.
At least a dozen brokerages have cut their price targets on the stock.
Shares fall on slower procedure growth and coverage concerns
July 17 (Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical ISRG.O shares fell nearly 10% on Friday after it maintained global growth forecast for procedures performed with its da Vinci surgical robots and flagged that changes to some insurance plans could weigh on demand.
The warning revived concerns that the loss of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act or Obamacare plans could dampen demand for elective procedures, a risk Abbott ABT.N brushed off as a "flawed assumption" a day earlier.
