ISRG has corrected from around $600 to roughly $379, putting the stock about 35–40% below its recent peak.

Unlike several other names reaching the lower end of my scanner, Intuitive Surgical is not technically ready yet. The Master Buy Scanner V2 is still firmly in WAIT mode.

But this is one case where I am more bullish on the underlying company than the technical score alone might suggest.

The reason is simple: business momentum remains exceptional.

Master Buy Scanner V2 — Monthly
Score: 1/3
Signal timeframe: 1M → 1M / 3W
Timeframe confidence: 1M OK
Action: WAIT
Decision: WAIT
BUY state: NO EVENT
Entry quality: WEAK — 15%
Setup maturity: LATE
Position size: NONE — 0%
Top recent: NO
WT cross: NO
Band 1: RED
Combined: GREEN 4/10
Bands synchronized: NO
Cycle: NO
WT1 / WT2: -31.06 / -12.00

The 3-week chart is actually weaker, with a 0/3 score, no WT cross, red Band 1 and only a 2/10 Combined reading.

So technically there is no ambiguity:

This is not a confirmed BUY setup yet.

Momentum is approaching interesting territory, but the lower bands have not synchronized and the bullish WT cross I normally want to see has not occurred.

Why I’m still more bullish here

The fundamental picture is almost the opposite of the technical one.

Intuitive Surgical reported Q2 2026 revenue of $2.89 billion, up 19% year over year. Worldwide da Vinci procedures increased about 15%, while Ion procedures grew roughly 36%.

That procedure growth is particularly important because Intuitive’s economic model becomes increasingly attractive as the installed base expands.

In Q2 alone:

468 da Vinci systems were placed versus 395 a year earlier
246 were da Vinci 5 systems, versus 180 last year
The da Vinci installed base reached 11,710 systems, +12%
Ion installed systems reached 1,096, +21%

Each additional system can generate years of instruments, accessories, service and procedure-related revenue.

That makes this much more than a one-time hardware story.

The recurring-revenue engine is still accelerating

Q2 instruments and accessories revenue reached $1.73 billion, +18%, representing the largest part of quarterly revenue.

Systems revenue simultaneously increased to $685 million from $575 million.

That combination is exactly what I want to see:

More systems → larger installed base → more procedures → more recurring instruments and accessories revenue.

It creates a flywheel that becomes harder for competitors to replicate as Intuitive’s ecosystem expands.

This is one reason I view the current decline differently from a company whose share price is falling because demand is disappearing.

Here, the stock has corrected while the operating machine is still growing strongly.

Da Vinci 5 could be another major upgrade cycle

The rollout of da Vinci 5 is particularly interesting.

By the end of 2025, more than 1,200 da Vinci 5 systems had already been installed and used in more than 270,000 procedures. Intuitive reported positive customer response around vision, ergonomics, precision and procedural efficiency.

The company is now seeing demand not only from new customers but also from hospitals upgrading and standardizing existing fleets around the newer platform.

That creates several potential growth engines simultaneously:

New hospital installations
Replacement of older da Vinci systems
Higher utilization
International expansion
New surgical indications
Digital services
Ion expansion

That is why I think focusing purely on the current chart risks missing the longer-term compounding story.

Profit growth remains strong too

This isn't growth purchased at the expense of profitability.

Q2 GAAP operating income increased from $743 million to $972 million.

GAAP net income increased to $818 million, while diluted EPS rose from $1.81 to $2.29.

Non-GAAP EPS reached $2.80, versus $2.19 a year earlier.

The scanner reflects that quality:

Business quality: 3/3 — 100%
Return on capital: 16.56%
Margin trend: +1.14%
Profitability measure: 16.67%
Cash-generation measure: 24.75%

The growth section is also a perfect 4/4:

Future profit growth: 10.23%
3Y profit growth: 29.18%
3Y sales growth: 17.39%

This is why I'm reluctant to view ISRG as just another falling growth stock.

The balance sheet is exceptional

Intuitive ended Q2 with approximately $8.63 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments.

Its balance sheet shows approximately $20.9 billion of assets against only $2.6 billion of total liabilities, with no conventional long-term debt line.

Operating cash flow for the first six months of 2026 reached approximately $1.97 billion, versus $1.30 billion a year earlier.

Intuitive also repurchased $380 million of shares during Q2.

There is therefore essentially no balance-sheet stress forcing the company to change its long-term strategy.

The problem is valuation

This is where I agree much more with the scanner.

ISRG is cheaper than it was—but it is still not cheap.

The scanner gives valuation only 3/7:

Cash yield: 2.38% — RED
Business-price multiple: 32.73 — RED
Cash-flow multiple: 54.99 — RED
Earnings multiple: 43.42 — RED
Profit/share: $8.73 — GREEN
Debt-to-equity: 0 — GREEN

That means the bull case cannot simply be:

“It fell 40%, therefore it is cheap.”

It isn't.

Investors are still paying a substantial premium for Intuitive's market position, procedure growth, margins and long-term runway.

And that premium creates downside risk if procedure growth slows from the current double-digit pace.

2026 growth expectations remain healthy

Management currently expects worldwide da Vinci procedure growth of approximately 13.5%–15.5% for 2026, with results expected around the midpoint.

It also expects non-GAAP gross margin of 68%–69%, despite an estimated one-percentage-point tariff impact.

So the fundamental story does not require a heroic turnaround.

The company simply needs to continue doing what it is already doing.

That is the key reason I am more constructive than the scanner.

What could go wrong?

The biggest risk is valuation compression.

If ISRG continues growing but investors decide a 40x+ earnings multiple is no longer justified, the stock can decline considerably even while the company performs well.

Other risks include:

Slower procedure growth
Greater robotic-surgery competition
Hospital capital-budget pressure
Tariffs and manufacturing costs
Regulatory delays
Slower adoption of new platforms

Management itself expects tariffs to pressure 2026 gross margin by around one percentage point.

So this is not a risk-free growth story.

Key technical levels

From the long-term chart:

Immediate support: $350–$360
Major support: $320–$340
First resistance: $400–$420
Next resistance: $450–$480
Major recovery zone: $520–$560
Previous highs: approximately $600

For my scanner, the most important development would be less about one specific price and more about WT1 turning upward, producing the bullish cross and bringing Band 1 into green synchronization.

A move through roughly $400–$420 while those conditions improve would make the setup substantially more convincing.

My classification: FUNDAMENTALLY BULLISH — TECHNICALLY WAIT

This is one of those situations where I don't think NO BUY means bad company.

Quite the opposite.

ISRG currently offers:

19% revenue growth
15% da Vinci procedure growth
36% Ion procedure growth
Growing system placements
A rapidly expanding installed base
Strong recurring instruments revenue
3/3 business quality
4/4 growth
Exceptional balance-sheet strength
Powerful long-term switching costs and ecosystem effects

The negatives are concentrated elsewhere:

No technical BUY signal
Only 1/3 monthly score
No WT cross
Band 1 RED
No band synchronization
No fired cycle
Expensive valuation
Only 15% scanner entry quality

So I am more bullish on ISRG than the scanner currently is, but I don't think that means ignoring the scanner.

It means putting the stock very high on the watchlist and waiting for the technical side to catch up with the fundamentals.

Current verdict: BULLISH ON THE BUSINESS — WAITING FOR THE ENTRY.

What would you do?

A) Start accumulating around $375–$380
B) Wait for the Master Buy Scanner to confirm
C) Wait for another pullback toward $340

Master Buy Scanner V2:

This is not financial advice. ISRG remains a premium-valued growth company, and strong fundamentals do not eliminate the risk of further multiple compression.