PEN vs ISRG Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Penumbra and Intuitive Surgical both operate in medical device innovation, but Intuitive Surgical has built a dominant, diversified robotic surgery platform with a massive recurring revenue base, while Penumbra remains a more focused specialist in neurovascular and peripheral vascular thrombectomy.
PEN offers focused exposure to a growing thrombectomy niche with room to scale, while ISRG offers exposure to the entrenched, diversified leader in robotic-assisted surgery. The decision depends on whether you prefer a specialist with a longer growth runway or an established multi-specialty platform leader.
ISRG holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PEN has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+14.46% vs -21.45%), though ISRG has the better forward P/E setup (30.87x vs 52.54x for PEN). ISRG leads on both revenue growth (18.50%) and operating margin (33.60%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ISRG (+28.29%) than for PEN (+12.31%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want focused exposure to the growing neurovascular and peripheral thrombectomy device market
- Believe vacuum-based thrombectomy technology will continue displacing older mechanical retrieval methods
- Are comfortable with a narrower procedure focus relative to diversified device conglomerates
- See international expansion of stroke and vascular care as a long-term growth driver
- Prefer the entrenched leader in robotic-assisted surgery with a broad multi-specialty platform
- Value a recurring, per-procedure revenue model tied to a large and growing installed base
- Want exposure to surgical robotics without the concentration risk of a single procedure category
- Believe high switching costs will continue protecting the company's competitive position
| Metric | PEN | ISRG |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 47.8 | 50.8 |
| AI ranki | #631 | #478 |
| Latest closei | $322.17 | $366.70 |
| 1M returni | -0.77% | -3.20% |
| 6M returni | -5.14% | -25.70% |
| 1Y returni | +14.46% | -21.45% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PEN | ISRG |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.28K (+12.8%) started 2025-09-08 | $7.8K (-22.0%) started 2025-09-08 |
| 5Y ago | $11.85K (+18.5%) started 2021-09-08 | $10.28K (+2.8%) started 2021-09-09 |
| 10Y ago | $45.08K (+350.8%) started 2016-09-08 | $48.81K (+388.1%) started 2016-09-09 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PEN | ISRG |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $12.69B | $133.49B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 79.35 | 42.01 |
| Forward P/Ei | 52.54 | 30.87 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 22.91 |
| EV/Revenuei | 8.14 | 11.47 |
| Analyst targeti | $361.83 | $478.01 |
| Target upsidei | +12.31% | +28.29% |
| Metric | PEN | ISRG |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 14.90% | 18.50% |
| Earnings growthi | -23.50% | 26.50% |
| EPS growthi | -23.50% | +26.50% |
| FCF margini | +10.71% | +23.70% |
| Operating margini | 10.52% | 33.60% |
| Profit margini | 10.67% | 28.45% |
| ROIC proxyi | 11.37% | 17.42% |
| Return on equityi | 11.37% | 17.42% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.70 | 1.46 |
| Debt/equityi | 13.90 | 0.95 |
| Current ratioi | 5.75 | 4.96 |
| Quick ratioi | 3.63 | 3.64 |
Over the past year, PEN and ISRG have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.16), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PEN | ISRG |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +12.81% | -21.98% |
| CAGRi | +12.84% | -22.02% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.19% | 36.43% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.40 | -0.62 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.77 | -0.87 | |
| Max drawdowni | 21.44% | 44.00% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.36% | 38.15% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.76% | 17.93% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.96% | 22.14% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.79% | 14.15% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.13% | 17.48% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +18.48% | +2.81% |
| CAGRi | +3.45% | +0.56% | |
| Volatilityi | 40.69% | 34.54% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.17 | 0.06 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.27 | 0.08 | |
| Max drawdowni | 60.14% | 49.90% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.36% | 39.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 24.42% | 17.91% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 28.54% | 22.49% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.03% | 14.34% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.12% | 22.30% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +350.78% | +388.05% |
| CAGRi | +16.25% | +17.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 41.17% | 33.11% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.46 | 0.51 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.69 | 0.74 | |
| Max drawdowni | 62.64% | 49.90% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.36% | 39.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.40% | 11.93% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 23.15% | 16.97% | |
| Max daily dropi | 16.09% | 14.34% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.12% | 22.30% |
| Category | PEN | ISRG |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Penumbra, Inc. | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Medical Devices | Medical Instruments & Supplies |
| Core business | A medical device company focused on developing devices for the treatment of stroke, thrombus removal, and other vascular conditions, with a growing platform of computer-assisted vacuum thrombectomy technology. | A medical technology company that designs, manufactures, and markets the da Vinci surgical system, a robotic-assisted surgery platform used across a wide range of surgical specialties worldwide. |
| Investor focus | Adoption of newer thrombectomy and embolization product platforms, procedure volume growth in stroke and peripheral vascular care, and international market expansion. | Installed base growth of da Vinci systems, procedure volume expansion across specialties, and recurring instrument and service revenue per procedure. |
- Focused specialty in neurovascular and peripheral vascular thrombectomy gives it deep clinical expertise in a growing procedure category
- Recurring consumable device revenue tied to procedure volumes provides a steady, repeatable revenue base
- Continued innovation in vacuum-based thrombectomy technology differentiates it from traditional mechanical retrieval devices
- Dominant installed base in robotic-assisted surgery creates a durable, recurring revenue model tied to per-procedure instrument sales
- Broad multi-specialty applicability of the platform diversifies procedure volume across many surgical categories
- High switching costs for hospitals that have already invested in training and infrastructure around the platform support customer retention
- Smaller scale relative to diversified medical device giants limits its ability to absorb pricing pressure or competitive disruption
- Reliance on a narrower set of procedure categories concentrates risk relative to companies with broader device portfolios
- New device launches must clear regulatory and physician-adoption hurdles before contributing meaningfully to revenue
- High capital equipment costs can slow new system placements when hospital capital budgets tighten
- Increasing competition from newer robotic surgery platforms could pressure long-term market share
- Regulatory or reimbursement changes affecting robotic-assisted procedures could influence adoption pace across specialties
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