Intuitive Surgical Sees Q1 Sales Well Below Analyst Estimate, Shares Nosedive

Shares of Intuitive Surgical

are down 12.4 percent to $425 in post-market action Tuesday as the company issued concerning preliminary first-quarter results. Intuitive said it is anticipating revenue of $465 million, much lower than the current analyst consensus estimate of $537.9 million. The figure implies a 24 percent year-over-year decline in sales. The revenue reflects a $26 million deferral associated with a customer trade-out program for the newly launched da Vinci Xi Surgical System. Excluding the impact of the trade-out program, revenue would have been $491 million, a decrease of 20 percent compared with the prior year. The Company announced a pre-tax charge of $67 million to reflect estimated costs of settling a number of product liability legal claims related to alleged complications from surgeries performed with certain versions of Monopolar Curved Scissors instruments.