Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) shocked the market by reporting not one but two margin impairments in its Q3 results, but investors shouldn't misread this.
The first impairment is a one-time and expected settlement related to a known class-action lawsuit. While the amount and timing may have surprised investors, the news is a blip and will soon be forgotten. The other is more pertinent: the company announced pricing changes expected to reduce per-procedure revenue by 3% to 5%. While this may seem like bad news at first glance, potentially signaling weakness in the underlying market, that isn't the case.
