Up by some 279% in the past 10 years, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) is a popular growth stock for a reason. With its super-cool robotic surgical systems -- named after Leonardo da Vinci and operated by specially trained surgeons -- Intuitive Surgical is creating and distributing the future of minimally invasive care one sale at a time.

But being the first mover in a brand-new space like robotic surgery entails a few risks, and even industry leaders can sometimes fall into stagnation and decline. Is Intuitive Surgical still an all-star option for growth, or is buying as many shares a bad idea right now?

Investors have been able to count on Intuitive Surgical's growth engine for quite some time. The company's da Vinci robotic surgical suites have been on the market for more than 21 years, and between sales of the robots themselves, maintenance contracts, replacement parts, accessories like new surgical tools, and consumables, it brought in more than $1.3 billion in trailing-12-month net income, up from a mere $660 million in 2017.

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Source Fool.com