ARK Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

ARK Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN - Free Report) by 23.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,091 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 1,895 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC's holdings in Align Technology were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALGN. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Align Technology in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Align Technology during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 547.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Align Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Align Technology by 150.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 133 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 88.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Align Technology

In related news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. bought 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $235.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,529,645.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 28,247 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,366.51. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $328.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. OTR Global restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Align Technology from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Align Technology from $370.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Align Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.78.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of ALGN traded up $4.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $236.28. The stock had a trading volume of 602,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,241. The business has a fifty day moving average of $235.25 and a 200 day moving average of $273.68. The firm has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.66. Align Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.34 and a 12 month high of $375.68.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.09. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Align Technology Company Profile

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.