Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO) is up by 15% as of Thursday afternoon, following the release of its first-ever earnings report since its IPO. The company registered a loss of $1.73 per share for the fourth quarter, much wider than the analyst consensus estimate of a loss of $0.33 per share. Although it failed to meet the expectations of Wall Street, investors continue to bet on Juno, as demonstrated by the heavy trading experienced the day after the report was released. VHCP Management ranks as the company’s largest shareholder among the institutional investors we track, holding 1.75 million shares of its outstanding stock.
Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, L.P. was originally founded in 1969 by Laurence S. Rockefeller, as the venture capital branch of the Rockefeller family. The investment firm has always been engaged in the technology sector, while placing its focus on the healthcare industry and biotechnology sector in recent years. As it tends to invest in early-stage companies and start-ups, VHCP Management continues to establish partnerships with entrepreneurs in order to create successful and long-lasting businesses. The fund has been very successful in its ventures, landing big wins by supporting publicly traded equities such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). According to its latest 13F filing, the investment firm’s equity portfolio amounts to $363.50 million, up from $222.51 million registered at the end of the previous quarter.
VHCP Management held Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO) as its largest holding at the end of the last quarter, disclosing a position valued at $74.33 million, which represents more than 20% of its equity portfolio. Other investment firms betting on the company include James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management, which owns 358,100 shares, and Christopher Medlock James’ Partner Fund Management. The latter boasts a stake of 631,000 shares, which were valued at $32.95 million at the end of the last quarter. Despite missing estimates by a wide margin in its recently released earnings report, Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO) has been performing very well. Since its IPO in December of 2014, the stock has already gained a whopping 65%. Thursday’s trading activity suggests investors are aware that the reported loss was largely due to the fact that management poured a great deal of cash into research and development. Hence, the company’s recently released financial results has had little effect on the optimistic outlook share by most investors, who remain enthusiastic regarding Juno Therapeutics’ drug pipeline.
