J&J Finally Has a Rival to da Vinci. 1 Number in Intuitive Surgical’s Last Quarter Says It Won’t Be Enough to Move the Needle for JNJ Stock.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) shares closed lower on July 22 after Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) finally entered its market. The FDA granted De Novo authorization for J&J’s Ottava surgical robot, clearing it for general surgery procedures in the upper abdomen. It is J&J’s first move into soft-tissue surgery, which covers the most common operations performed in the U.S. Ottava’s selling point is its design, with the robotic arms built into the operating table instead of separate carts. The design cuts the floor space needed by up to half.

The market read this as bad news for Intuitive, but I believe the case against that is strong. J.P. Morgan analyst Robbie Marcus said his checks with doctors still point to Intuitive as the clear favorite. The analyst cited surgeon relationships and da Vinci’s place in hospital workflows as the reasons for backing ISRG.