Intuitive Surgical shares fall on sales guidance

NEW YORK—Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc., which makes robotic surgical instruments, fell Thursday after a Cowen & Co. analyst said in a research note that revenue guidance the company offered at a conference is below Wall Street expectations.

Analyst Eli Kammerman wrote that the company stated at a conference Thursday that its 2008 revenues would be around $850 million.

That projection is below the expectation of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who, on average, expect revenue of $873 million for the year.

Despite the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company's projection, Kammerman is maintaining his "Outperform" rating saying that he expects Intuitive to beat Wall Street expectations, and that the shares will outpace the market by 15 percent to 20 percent over the next 12 months.

Shares of Intuitive fell $13.90, or 4.8 percent, to $274.75.