Another earnings report, another blowout quarter for Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG), the maker of the da Vinci robotic surgical system. Intuitive Surgical reported last Wednesday and the stock jumped Thursday and Friday on the news while analysts were busy revising their projections for future earnings and upgrading their recommendations and price projections (see: Chasing Value: The amazing Intuitive Surgical).

I have been one of Intuitive's biggest cheerleaders for years and like everyone else was encouraged to find the company still growing successfully on all fronts. Given my favorable opinion of the company, and the stock, I took a look at where it stood after the run-up (closing Friday at $222.53) to see whether there might be any value left, or if the frenetic buying had exhausted the possibility.

Anybody reading Bloggingstocks.com for any length of time will know that I have been following Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) since its beginning.

Yesterday the company reported strong top and bottom line growth, with profits of $1.62 per share, about 37 cents ahead of analyst estimates, and its revenue of $260.6 million was $30.6 million greater than expected. Intuitive also raised its forecast for procedures performed using da Vinci systems, which can lead to increased sales.

If stocks were drums then there would be no stock that I have been pounding louder than Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) for the last decade!

The stock has been moving upward every day for over a week gaining more than 50% in that time. It is up about 11% to $152.00 in mid day trading.

It was only two days ago that I posted Chasing Value: Intuitive Surgical's right price outlining why the stock was a value, but determining the exact value was not possible. If there was anyone that heeded my call then, they must be smiling today.

It is not possible to follow all stocks or companies with equal intensity, focus, or depth of knowledge. One that I have followed for over ten years is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG).

I originally bought in at the very bottom, about $7.70 and last year sold about 20% of our position for $192. The stock had reached an all time high about 18 months ago just shy of $360, so my timing was far from ideal, but I was influenced by other factors. In this case a real estate transaction.

Over the past six months I have been buying more shares and have more than doubled our position. I believe that ISRG remains a growth stock, but for quite some time it has been value priced. However, I cannot tell you what exactly is the right price -- that is a big question.

Given the current state of the economy all would agree it's going to be a long road home. The market is up today on a few bits of news following what has been a dreadful last ten days. Maybe it's the merger and acquisition activity, maybe it's the news that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) "let slip" that they earned a profit the first two months of the year. Perhaps the market was just due for a bounce before another slide?

Every day we read various rationales for why the market may be undervalued, or as some believe, still has a long way to drop. We look at stocks of strong companies with historically low price-to-earnings ratios and think now is the time to get in. However, someone will be quick to point out that forward earnings are perhaps going to be less than projected.

If there is anything that makes me think we could be close to a market bottom, it is all the people that have gone off the deep end thinking the world may be coming to an end.

For the time being highly leveraged debt obligations seem to have come to an end. Large independent investment banks may have come to an end for now. The idea of a balanced budget may have come to an end a long time ago. However, the world is not coming to an end.

If anybody out there thinks that the times we live in come close to the Dark Ages, the American Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I or II, or the Great Depression, then they are wimps who know nothing about history or true misery.

The 2009 clock is ticking loudly. The year has started off with a lot of continued turbulence. We have a new president, Barack Obama, who will boldly lead us where no man has gone before -- two trillion further in debt, most likely.

Not that this is his doing, but it is his chosen calling, and right now he is calling out to the Senate minority to compromise, and get yet another federal stimulus package off the shelf and out the door.

Over the past week I have heard rumors that Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) might acquire Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) and this may have caused some of the recent upward movement in ISRG stock. So I am watchful, but I see no facts at all other than the stocks rise on lighter than average trading volume.

It closed yesterday at $110.68. This is 27% above its 52-week low of $87.14 set in the last two weeks. Perhaps the rumors are wishful thinking on the part of some, and a few whispers somewhere in the murkiest alleyways of Wall Street created a story in some editor or promoters mind.

Anybody have capital gains to show this year? I didn't think so. Not unless you were shorting the market, and in particular financials. I got clobbered with everyone else. There were not many places to hide. Picking winners was like guessing where each piece of debris would land after the tornado moved through town.

The average crystal ball is looking quite foggy about now, nevertheless I have rummaged throughout the stock market to select nine stocks that I think offer more reward than risk. The market is priced for the worst in so many cases that I think the list could have included 50 companies without too much trouble.

In 2007 and 2008 I owned some but not all of the picks for the year. This year I own all of the stocks and they were all acquired in the latter part of the fourth quarter for a new portfolio.

There is a lot of money sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time to get back into the stock market. Maybe that time will be after the Dow Jones Industrial Average tests 7000, or even 6000. Maybe it will be after quarterly reports start turning positive. I'm sure many people will not do anything until the housing market turns around. Then there are those that have sworn off the stock market or at least individual stocks entirely.

These and a multitude of other issues may be keeping you from investing for now and no one could blame you, but if it is your intention to get back in when the coast is clear then you should be making some preparations by putting together your watch list.

Here are some of the stocks on my watch list. I usually have about 20 stocks that I am interested in. Some of them I own already and I am interested in acquiring more. Some have appeared in my Chasing Value column, and some or all might appear there again.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) is one of the stocks mentioned in Fortune Magazines "Ten Promising Stocks for 2009" and is currently paying almost a 15% yield at Fridays closing price of $14.92. The company borrows money at short term rates and only invests in long-term Federally backed mortgages. They have avoided subprime loans and derivatives entirely.

Boardwalk Partners (NYSE: BWP) is expanding and was highlighted today as another high yield value stock Chasing Value: High yield thru Boardwalk's pipes that you can acquire for less than the price the general partners paid in October.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) can claim Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) as it's largest shareholder and you can buy shares for less than 'my pal Warren' did.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) is one of my top holdings and favorite companies. I have owned it for years and only selling some shares at $192. I recently started building a new position in a new portfolio in the past few months and I am interested in buying more. It closed at 134.38 on Friday.

Yesterday, in response to Chasing Value: ISRG is falling and I'm buying I received the following comment from Beltway Greg, "You're a brave dude. Why? I've watched this stock for awhile and I worry about possible entry by other folks into the market."

Brave perhaps, even foolish on occasion, but I still think this is the time to be selectively buying equities.

To those that might be concerned about competition for Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG) you will be interested in the following:

• NOTICE TEXT: Department of the Army U.S. Army Medical Command MEDCOM, North Atlantic Regional Contracting Office Subject: Contract prosthetic feet and leg coverings This is a notice of the Governments intent to solicit, negotiate and award a sole source contract (Note 22) contract to Intuitive surgical for Implants based on urgency. This is not a set-aside for small business. This notice is an urgent requirement for Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20307, contract number W91YTZ-09-P-0147. Parties interested in future announcements shall provide detailed information of their capabilities and certifications to clearly meet the requirements stated above.

It is possible that someday ISRG will have some competition, but there does not seem to be anything on the horizon for now. Furthermore, as the user base expands the barrier to entry increases and the cost of changing systems becomes more challenging.

The most likely scenario for competition would be if another manufacturer were to create a similar system for procedures not yet addressed by ISRG's Di Vinci robotic surgical units. Some of the potential competitors, like Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) or Medronic (NYSE: MDT), are actually corporate partners helping to distribute the units world wide. What is most likely from my point of view is that other manufacturers will find a way to partner with ISRG to develop complimentary hardware to expand the capability of the system for more procedures to get to market faster.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

One of my top holdings, Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG) and favorite stocks is taking a beating this morning and has been along with almost everything else. One of our readers who has been following this story line sent me an email asking what my current thoughts on the subject are. Andrew:

"I'm just curious if you hung on to your ISRG or if you bailed on it... I've been following it since this article, and man, its really heading down to the boiler room... Doctors seeem to be making cuts all over the place, and it looks like ISRG is being taken for a ride... I'm looking at getting in, but maybe if it hits 112 to even as low as sub 100... But I'm curious how you've taken to it?"

As the old saying goes in regards to the stock market, beware trying to catch a falling knife. Regardless, I have been a buyer of late. But first questions first. We did sell 20% of our position for a large gain just under $200 per share, having originally bought in at $7.70. We did not bail out but we did take our original money off the table, and then some.

The first time I bought Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG) I paid around $7 per share and that is about the lowest point since it went public. Those shares have been sitting in our portfolio as our largest position and our best investment for quite some time.

ISRG makes computer assisted robotic surgical equipment to assist doctors in a growing range of less invasive procedures.

The stock closed yesterday at $214.80. I have been tempted to buy more shares many times over the last few years and regular readers know how much I like this stock: Intuitive Surgical jumps over 32% - where's the ceiling?

Until today I hesitated to buy more because the stock was jumping so fast that I always thought it was slightly ahead of the value. Each time it just went up more.

After the market closed yesterday ISRG reported an increase in revenue and earnings.

• Revenues for the quarter grew 50% over the same period last year. The company's third quarter 2008 net income was $57.6 million, up 41% from $40.9 million reported for the third quarter of 2007. Earnings per share increased to $1.44 from $1.04 in the prior-year comparable quarter. Eleven analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to earn $1.27 per share for the quarter.

Even though the company beat earnings expectations by $0.17 (13.38%) a share the stock dropped almost 16% a share, since yesterday. Until today I watched the stock go from $7.00, to as high as $359.59, its all-time high and stayed on the sidelines except to buy a little for my kids shortly after our company got in.

Today, with the share price 50% off its high; with investors afraid of their own shadows; with world financial markets in turmoil; I bought more at $180 per share. That is 10 times what my kids shares cost and almost 26 times what I first paid.

This one is a keeper and one of the few stocks besides Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) that I have ever recommended that does not pay a dividend. Even Warren Buffett has been buying and recently posted a bullish story in the NY Times. The following is the five-year chart for ISRG.

During my various commutes over the past week I have been hearing a new radio commercial about Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG). The City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles is advertising their Di Vinci robotic surgical procedures to attract patients.

They use the catch phrase "The science of saving lives" while promoting less invasive surgical procedures, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery. These are well-known themes among the medical profession and investors but it is the first time I have heard the story promoted for a competitive advantage among hospitals. I am sure it won't be the last.

Certainly this will raise the bar among other hospitals competing for similar business and simply to keep their Di Vinci operating rooms productive, cost effective, and profitable. It also means that any hospital without the equipment will soon be deemed second rate, if they are not already.

Perhaps we will soon be hearing competing hospitals bragging about having multiple Di Vinci's or more trained doctors or the highest number of procedures or new procedures. Where will it end? When it is common place and every hospital is using the system.

Have you heard any radio advertising from hospitals in your city? Fans of Elvis Costello can check out Radio, Radio" at Last fm. here.

ISRG closed last Friday at $299.17 and is trading down slightly this morning. It has been hovering around $300 for the past two weeks.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. DISCLOSURE: I currently own shares of ISRG and BRK.B.

This week's Barron's (subscription required) finally had Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) on its cover, and cover it it did, but with a wet blanket.

The stock is down in early trading today, but that is probably warranted given the runup last week when it jumped $52 in one day after it reported one more mind boggling quarter. I only exaggerate slightly as the company beat estimates by 10 cents a share and increased margins in all areas, when I reported then, Chasing Value: Intuitive Surgical beat the street AGAIN!

The Barron's story, Surgical Robot Cuts Both Ways by Andrew Barry questions the stock's valuation and the company's projections of expanding sales and service figures.

Mr. Barry points out that the stock is trading at sky high valuations and that any disappointment could result in a 25% drop in the stock price. I would remind ISRG fans and stock watchers that this has happened on many occasions without any bad news. It had reached a high around $360 per share and then traded down until it took a dive into the $240s when Wall Street decided that the slowing economy and tighter fiscal restraint on the part of hospital administrators would dampen ISRG's prospects in the second half of 2008.