You would think that insiders would be ready to buy with the markets rebounding, but corporate executives held their wallets tightly last week; buying was light. Once again, we were limited to one option for this week’s insider buy of the week.
Vicarious Surgical Inc. (RBOT) received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its Surgical Robot which utilizes a single port requiring a 1.5 cm incision — smaller than the size of a dime — for the insertion of a camera and two robotic instruments, transporting surgeons to a new world of visibility and maneuverability for robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery. The company says, “It’s almost as if the surgeon is transported into the patient’s body.”
RBOT director Philip Liang acquired a total of 188,811 shares of the medical device company in four transactions between February 6th-8th, investing $577,244. (2) Prior to last week’s bullish trade, Liang did nothing but collect cash from nine sales, pocketing $712,627. This is what we call a change of heart, turning from a seller to a buyer for the first time.
Analysts don’t expect the company to turn a profit any time soon and don’t have any revenue estimates. However, according to Precedence Research, the global surgical robotics market size is projected to hit around US$ 21.3 billion by 2030 and expanding growth at a CAGR of 16.57% from 2022 to 2030. (2)
There are several types of robotic surgery that are expected to be the most common in the coming years, including:
- Gynecologic Surgery: Robotic surgery is increasingly being used for gynecologic procedures such as hysterectomies, endometrial ablation, and treatment of ovarian cancer.
- Prostate Surgery: Robotic surgery is also widely used for prostate surgery, including radical prostatectomies and the treatment of prostate cancer.
- Colorectal Surgery: Robotic surgery is becoming more common for colorectal procedures such as rectal resection, colectomy, and the treatment of colon cancer.
- Gastrointestinal Surgery: Robotic surgery is also being used for a variety of gastrointestinal procedures, including gastrectomy, Heller myotomy, and the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
- Cardiac Surgery: Robotic surgery is being used for minimally invasive cardiac procedures such as mitral valve repair, coronary artery bypass, and heart bypass surgery.
And Time Magazine recognized Vicarious’ Surgical robot as one of 2022’s best inventions in the experimental inventions category of TIME’s annual list, which features 200 extraordinary innovations changing lives. (3)
OVERALL: Vicarious Surgical Inc. (RBOT) is absolutely a speculative play and only for investors with the maximum risk tolerance. Those who do get involved will be joining the likes of Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla’s Khosla Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Jerry Yang’s AME Cloud Ventures, Sun Hung Kai & Co. Ltd and Philip Liang’s E15 VC. (4)
Anybody interested in following Director Philip Liang’s lead must have a time horizon of at least three years as RBOT will be news dependent and will likely endure wild price swings until revenue and then profits become somewhat predictable for Wall Street analysts.
1 – https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1812173.htm
2 – https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/05/23/2448598/0/en/Surgical-Robotics-Market-Size-to-Hit-US-21-3-Billion-by-2030.html
3 – https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vicarious-surgical-system-named-time-142500927.html
4 – https://investor.vicarioussurgical.com/news/news-details/2023/Vicarious-Surgical-to-Report-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2022-Financial-Results-on-February-13-2023/default.aspx
