robot stocks – Robohub

Intuitive Surgical stock sinks

Frank Tobe — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 05:16:00 +0000

… After months of negative news about poorly trained surgeons, class action suits claiming poor communications with shareholders, an FDA review, an article saying that procedure costs were too high, particularly for gynecological operations, and an NBC exposé, the news that stuck and affected the stock (NASDAQ:ISRG) where it hurts seems to be the JAMA article.
… The article showed that although the number of robotically assisted procedures is up, their effectiveness is the same as laparoscopic methods but their costs are about $2,000 higher per procedure. That got hospitals to stop and reevaluate their purchases. Shortly after that, the ACOG (American Congress of Gynecologists) suggested that doctors help patients separate marketing hype from reality regarding hysterectomies.
… Yesterday Intuitive Surgical reported that quarterly sales were slightly down, and expectations for the next quarter were also lowered.
… Intuitive’s shares were downgraded by at least four analysts.

What’s happening to the big industrial robot stocks?

Frank Tobe — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 01:57:00 +0000

… Compared to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is back to where it started the year, the big four robot manufacturers are down 20% year to date. Yet 2011 robot sales were great (see story below). And prospects for 2012 sales were expected to be just as good. Particularly in Asia. So why are these stocks 20% down?
… Rising wages and demands for faster, safer production are driving Chinese manufacturers to buy more robots. China bought 15,000 robots last year and expects that figure to expand 30-40% annually.
… KUKA, the largest European industrial robot maker, is building a regional hub in China.
… FANUC tripled production capacity to handle new sales into China. It’s stock is the only one of the four that is positive for the year.
… YASKAWA ELECTRIC is building plants in Japan and China to meet the rising demand.
… ABB, the second-largest European robot maker, said that it sells one out of three robots to customers in Asia, and just shipped it’s 200,000th robot to a solar manufacturer in China.
… Nevertheless, stocks of the Big 4 are significantly trailing the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Mako Surgical’s stock takes a big hit

Frank Tobe — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:59:00 +0000

… Stock drops from $41 to $21. Many reasons given: slow sales of RIO systems; utilization rates of existing systems are down; class action suits; and investor restlessness.
… The problem of utilization rates, ie, systems sitting idle; of surgeons taking a long time to learn to effectively use the system, is not limited to MAKO. It’s just not talked about publicly.

List of publicly-traded robotics stocks

Frank Tobe — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

… Robotics is becoming a big deal and people want to invest in the industry. But choosing robotics stocks is complicated. Many of the companies are international, some are small subsidiaries within much larger companies, many are start-ups or otherwise privately held, and others are outright wastes of time.
… Here is a list of publicly-traded stocks to whet your appetite – with explanations as to why they are appropriate.

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20 US stocks involved in the robotics industry

Frank Tobe — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:34:00 +0000

… Is it time to invest? Check this list of 20 US stocks involved in the robotics industry.
… Read Q&A on the subject by CNET’s Tim Hornyak.
… List also includes stock symbols and nine additional European and Japanese robotic manufacturers.