What's Deterring the Stock? Intuitive Surgical has been witnessing contraction in margins for time quite some time now. Management expects margins to fluctuate based on a mix of new products and systems. Further, the company is incurring additional costs for expansion in markets outside the United States, which in turn is adding to woes. What's Favoring the Stock? Intuitive Surgical's robot-based da Vinci surgical system enables minimally-invasive surgery, which reduces risks associated with open surgery. The company continues to gain from this system, which in turn boosts overall performance. In the second quarter of 2019, da Vinci procedure improved 17% globally from the second quarter of last year. This was driven by healthy growth in U.S. General Surgery. In the last reported quarter, Intuitive Surgical placed 273 da Vinci surgical systems, with the installed base growing 13% year over year to approximately 5,270.