Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) stock is trading higher on Friday after the robotic-assisted surgery company reported second-quarter earnings that were better than expected. William Blair writes, “All this comes in spite of several headwinds—China macro/anticorruption efforts, South Korea physician strikes, worsening bariatric volumes, and a somewhat strained supply chain—emphasizing the underlying momentum of the business and pointing to upside potential as these headwinds stabilize/improve through 2024 and especially into 2025.” The analyst adds the momentum remains strong due to the support of general surgery in the U.S. and non-urology procedures internationally, as Intuitive Surgical’s technology extends beyond its initial applications to become the standard of care in soft tissue surgery. William Blair notes that da Vinci 5 made up 47% of U.S. placements in the quarter, which was ahead of expectations, especially when factoring in management’s comments about a slow launch and “choppy” placements in 2024. The analyst maintains the ...