HSBC Takes Aim at Surgical Robot Giant

HSBC made two notable cuts on Wednesday. The bank downgraded both ISRG Intuitive Surgical and PG Procter & Gamble from Buy to Hold.

Intuitive Surgical carries a $124 billion market cap. HSBC analyst Helen Fang set a new target of $931. The stock has just 1.9% of its free float sold short — bears are not piling in. But the downgrade signals HSBC sees limited near-term upside after a strong run.

P&G's cut is also notable. HSBC's anonymous analyst slashed the target sharply to $149, down from $182. That's a $33 drop. The consumer staples giant faces valuation pressure as growth slows.

On the upside, APH Amphenol got a target boost to $198 from $193. Analysts lifted the consensus as the connector maker rides strong AI infrastructure demand. Short interest sits at just 1.4% of free float.

WTW Willis Towers Watson also saw its consensus target tick up to $345. The $30 billion insurance broker is gaining favour.

BLDR Builders FirstSource faced a target cut to $91.55 from $96.52. The housing materials supplier is under pressure from slowing construction activity.

SBUX Starbucks got a UBS target hike to $112 from $105, a quiet vote of confidence as the turnaround story continues.