This year has been a bit of a roller coaster for investors in Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ) . The company responsible for manufacturing and selling the daVinci Surgical Robot has had no problem continuing to grow its business, but a number of new worries have appeared on the horizon, causing Intuitive's stock to take a long pause.
Back in July of 2011, I pledged to buy and hold $4,000 worth of Intuitive shares. Since then, the shares have appreciated to about $5,000. Although the shares were outperforming the broader market for much of the past two years, recent worries have caused it to lose ground.
ISRG Total Return Price data by YCharts.
Read below to find out what these worries are, and why I still think the stock is worth holding.
Doubters surfacing
It's tough to say when the worry-warts took over the narrative, but it likely began when famed short-seller Citron came out with a paper saying Intuitive was grossly overpriced. Though many of the assertions Citron made were overblown, one seemed to stick: that doctors were possibly not getting the type of training that they should be. This led to the FDA opening an investigation to check on these assertions.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Axcelis Technologies Inc.(ACLS)
Axcelis Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation, dry strip, and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It offers a line of high energy, high current, and medium current ion implanters for various applications, such as line of single wafer implanters, known as the Optima platform, comprising the Optima XE, the Optima HD, and the Optima MD. The company also offers dry strip tools, including the Integra RS, which comprises paired-chamber process modules. In addition, it provides aftermarket services and support, such as spare parts, equipment upgrades, maintenance services, and customer training. The company sells its equipment and services through direct sales force, distributors, and manufacturing representatives. Axcelis Technologies was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]
The major dry strip product today is Suprema - Mattson's most advanced tool, and one that uses inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technology and vacuum transfer. Two of the company's primary competitors use one but not the other, while the third uses both but charges about 20% more for its tools. According to Gartner, Mattson holds about 22% market share in this roughly $180 million/year market, with Lam Research (which acquired Novellus and dry strip IP from Axcelis (ACLS)) and PSK as the primary competitors.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Veeco Instruments Inc.(VECO)
Veeco Instruments Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets various equipments to make light emitting diodes (LEDs) and hard-disk drives worldwide. The company?s LED and Solar segment designs and manufactures metal organic chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy systems and components for the manufacturers of LEDs, wireless devices, power semiconductors, and concentrator photovoltaics, as well as to research and development applications. Its Data Storage segment designs and manufactures various technologies, including ion beam etch, ion beam deposition, diamond-like carbon, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and slicing, dicing, and lapping systems to create thin film magnetic heads that read and write data on hard disk drives. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Plainview, New York.
Top 5 High Tech Companies To Buy Right Now: Kenmare Res(KMR.L)
Kenmare Resources plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mining and exploration company. The company principally engages in the operation of the Moma Titanium Minerals mine, which is located on the north east coast of Mozambique. It sells a range of ilmenite, rutile, and zircon to the producers of titanium dioxide pigment, zircon millers, and specialized manufacturers supplying niche markets. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Aegon NV (AEV)
AEGON N.V. provides life insurance, pension, and asset management products and services primarily in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a range of life and protection products, including traditional, universal, endowment, term, employer, and whole life insurance products; and accidental death and dismemberment, critical illness, cancer treatment, disability, income protection, and long term care insurance. It also offers individual savings and retirement products, including fixed and variable annuity products, retail mutual funds, and mortgages; employer solutions and pensions comprising individual and group pensions, as well as 401(k) plans and similar products sponsored by or obtained through an employer; and general insurance products, including automotive, liability, fire protection, and household insurance. AEGON N.V. markets its products directly, as well as through various sales and distribution channels, including independent and career agents, fina ncial planners, registered representatives, independent marketing organizations, banks, broker-dealers, benefit consulting firms, wirehouses, affinity groups, institutional partners, independent managing general agencies, specialized financial advisors, and the Internet. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Hertz Global Holdings Inc(HTZ)
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the car and equipment rental businesses worldwide. It operates in two segments, Car Rental and Equipment Rental. The Car Rental segment engages in the ownership and lease of cars. This segment operates car rental locations at or near airports, as well as in central business districts and suburban areas of cities in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Brazil. It also operates retail used car sales locations in the United States and France. The Equipment Rental segment rents earthmoving equipment, material handling equipment, aerial and electrical equipment, air compressors, generators, pumps, small tools, compaction equipment, and construction-related trucks. In addition, this segment sells new equipment, and consumables, such as gloves and ha rdhats. The company also offers claim administration services, such as investigating, evaluating, negotiating, and disposing of various claims, including third-party, first-party, bodily injury, property damage, general liability, and product liability. Hertz Global serves various industries, such as construction, petrochemical, automobile manufacturing, railroad, power generation, and shipbuilding. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Johanna Bennett]
Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) dove more than 11% to $23 after the car-rental company cuts its full year guidance. Hertz said it now projects adjusted per-share earnings of $1.68 to $1.78, down from guidance of $1.78 to $1.88 in February. Separately, the company announced Wednesday that it would now begin renting Tesla Motors (TSLA) models to customers in certain California airport locations
- [By Seth Jayson]
Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 29. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Hertz Global Holdings's revenues will grow 21.7% and EPS will grow 28.6%.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Himax Technologies Inc.(HIMX)
Himax Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets semiconductors for flat panel displays. Its products include display drivers and timing controllers for various thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, which are used in desktop monitors, notebook computers, televisions, and mobile handsets, as well as consumer electronics products comprising netbook computers, digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players, digital photo frame, and car navigation displays; and TFT-LCD television and monitor semiconductor solutions. The company also provides liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) products for palm-size mobile projectors; power management integrated circuits, which include drivers, amplifiers, DC to DC converters and other semiconductors; complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors for camera-equipped mobile devices, such as mobile phones and notebook computers with a focus on lowlight image and video quality; and wafer level optics products. It serves TFT-LCD panel manufacturers, mobile device module manufacturers, and television makers. Himax Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
On Monday, small cap Taiwanese advanced display maker�Himax Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: HIMX) announced an agreement with Google�(NASDAQ: GOOG) where the later agreed to invest in the company's subsidiary, Himax Display Inc, fueling ever more speculation about Google Glass���a pair of glasses that will act like a wearable�smartphone. But what do we know about this Taiwanese small cap and is it enough for new investors to jump aboard?
- [By Alex Planes]
Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.
- [By Alex Planes]
What: Shares of Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX ) have been advancing throughout the trading day, and are now perched atop gains of 12%, after Oppenheimer analysts Andrew Uerkwitz and Martin Yang initiated coverage with a buy rating, making some strongly supportive comments in the process.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Close Bros Grp(CBG.L)
Close Brothers Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized financial services primarily in the United Kingdom. It offers loans, trades securities, and provides advice and investment management solutions to various clients. The company operates through three divisions: Banking, Securities, and Asset Management. The Banking division offers retail, commercial, and property lending services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals across a range of asset classes, as well as provides deposit taking and treasury services. The Securities division offers trading services for approximately 3,000 U.K. equities and dealing services for approximately 10,000 securities to retail brokers and institutions. This division also operates as broker dealer, as well as acts as an order book specialist. The Asset Management division provides a range of advisory, execution, investment management, and self directed services to private, institutional, and corporate c lients, as well as professional advisers. Close Brothers Group plc was founded in 1878 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Telephone and Data Systems Inc.(TDS)
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a diversified telecommunications service company, provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services in the United States. The company?s wireless services comprise postpaid and prepaid service plans, which consist of voice minutes, messaging, and data services; national consumer plans; business rate plans; smartphone messaging, data, and Internet services to access the Web, e-mail, social network sites, text, picture and video messages, and turn-by-turn GPS navigation, as well as to browse and download various applications; and data services, including news, weather, sports information, games, ring tones, and other services. It provides wireless devices, such as handsets, modems, and tablets; and a range of accessories comprising carrying cases, hands-free devices, batteries, battery chargers, and memory cards, as well as wireless device repair services. The company also offers voice services, including local and long-distance tel ephone service, voice over Internet protocol, voice mail, caller ID, and call forwarding services; broadband services comprising digital subscriber lines and other high-speed Internet data services; network access services; hosted and managed services consisting of co-location, hosting, hosted application management, and cloud computing services; and satellite and terrestrial video services to commercial and residential customers and carriers. In addition, it provides printing and distribution services. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 5.9 million wireless customers and 1.1 million wireline equivalent access lines. It sells its products through retail sales and service centers, direct sales, and independent agents, as well as through Website and telesales. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE: TDS ) is phoning home another shareholder payout. The company has declared a dividend for its Q2, which will be $0.1275 per share of its common stock, paid on June 28 to shareholders of record as of June 14. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution that was disbursed at the end of March. Prior to that, the firm paid $0.1225 per share.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Hinterland Metals Inc (HMI.V)
Hinterland Metals Inc., a junior mining exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada. It primarily explores for gold, precious, and base metal deposits. The company holds a portfolio of mineral properties located in Quebec, Ontario, and Yukon in Canada. Hinterland Metals Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Val d�Or, Canada.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Southern First Bancshares Inc.(SFST)
Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company of Southern First Bank, N.A that provides various banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, savings accounts, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction and development loans; residential real estate loans; home equity loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; and consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, Southern First offers safe deposit boxes, traveler's checks, direct deposits, the United States savings bonds, banking by mail, Internet banking services, bill payment services, and cash management services. The company was formerly known as Greenville First Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to S outhern First Bancshares, Inc. in July 2007. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. The company was formerly known as Greenville First Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to Southern First Bancshares, Inc. in July 2007. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.
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