- Piper Sandler has downgraded Vicarious Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:RBOT) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $7, down from $16, below expected Q4 results.
- A majority of the earnings call focused on the Company's regulatory update. Vicarious announced its plans to pursue a De Novo FDA pathway, including a pre-market study, for its first indication, ventral hernia, notes analyst Adam Maeder.
- The Company had previously anticipated using a 510(k) submission without clinical data, so the update will likely cause a roughly 9-12 month regulatory delay.
- Maeder writes that the regulatory delay and corresponding revenue pushout, combined with a "healthy pace" of cash-burn expected in subsequent years, moves him to the sidelines.
- Canaccord also lowered the price target on Vicarious Surgical to $13 from $15, with a Buy rating unchanged.
- Analyst Kyle Rose said he acknowledges the Company is still at least three years from the U.S. market.
- But, the analyst believes Vicarious offers investors a compelling opportunity in the surgical robotics market.
- The Company reported a Q4 EPS loss of $(0.15) wider than $(0.04) a year ago, missing the consensus of $(0.10).
- It held cash & cash equivalents of $173.5 million at the end of 2021.
- Price Action: RBOT shares are down 14.8% at $5.01 during the market session on the last check Friday.
