April 18 (Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) beat

Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and revenue on

Thursday, riding on higher demand for its robots used in

minimally invasive procedures.

Investor expectations around the performance of medical

device makers have been heightened since last November, as

people, especially older adults, opted for medical procedures

deferred during the pandemic.

Intuitive, which makes surgical robots called da Vinci,

earned $1.50 per share on an adjusted basis for the quarter

ended March 31. Analysts on average estimated $1.41, according

to LSEG data.

The company's sales rose 11% to $1.89 billion for the

quarter, compared with the estimated $1.87 billion.

Worldwide, da Vinci procedures grew about 16% compared with

the first quarter of 2023.

Shares of the California-based company were up more than 3%

in trading after the bell.

Industry bellwether and rival Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) said

on Tuesday it continues to expect medtech-related procedure

volumes to remain elevated through 2024, despite missing

estimates for its quarterly medical sales.

Brokerage Evercore ISI had then said a decline in sales for

J&J's surgical devices likely reflects loss of market share to

Intuitive.

Intuitive had forecast in January procedures using its da

Vinci surgical robot to grow between 13% and 16% in 2024. That

compares with an about 22% growth in 2023.