Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 222.7% in the last 5 years of Intuitive Surgical, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (55.3%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 121.7%, which is greater, thus better than the value of 33% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (9.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 26.4% of Intuitive Surgical is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 30.4%, which is greater, thus better than the value of 10% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (13.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 25.4% of Intuitive Surgical is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 27.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (13.5%).

DownVol:

'Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'

• The downside risk over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is 17.5%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (10%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 19.2%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 10.1% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

• The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is 0.94, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.49) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.55) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 1.01 is higher, thus better.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is 1.37, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.67) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 1.45 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.74).

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

• The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is 7.51 , which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (4 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 7.67 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (4.14 ).

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

• The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is -24.3 days, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -24.3 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -19.3 days from the benchmark.

MaxDuration:

'The Maximum Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. It is the length of time the account was in the Max Drawdown. A Max Drawdown measures a retrenchment from when an equity curve reaches a new high. It’s the maximum an account lost during that retrenchment. This method is applied because a valley can’t be measured until a new high occurs. Once the new high is reached, the percentage change from the old high to the bottom of the largest trough is recorded.'

• The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is 159 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (187 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 159 days is greater, thus worse.

AveDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of Intuitive Surgical is 36 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (42 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (36 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 36 days is higher, thus worse.