Hotshot investor Cathie Wood, chief executive of Ark Investment Management, bought an autonomous-vehicle stock and a digital-products maker’s stock Tuesday.
She also purchased a couple familiar names for her funds and sold shares of two well-known companies.
All the valuations below are as of Tuesday’s close.
Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) snagged 146,700 shares of TuSimple (TSP), valued at $1.1 million.
TuSimple is working on building the tech and vehicles to create a network of autonomous big trucks (semi rigs). The stock is trading at about 10% of its 52-week high, set almost a year ago.
Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) snatched 184,821 shares of Markforged (MKFG) , valued at $408,454.
Markforged says its digital manufacturing platform connects software, 3D printers, and materials, enabling engineers and designers "to go from design to fully functional industrial parts more efficiently." The stock is trading at about a fifth of its 52-week high, set at the end of last July.
Ark funds snapped up 82,040 shares of financial services company Block (SQ), valued at $5 million. Block shares have slid 63% year to date.
Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) bought 39,610 shares of video-streaming platform Roku (ROKU), valued at $3.5 million. The company’s shares have dropped 62% this year.
On the selling side, Ark Next Generation Internet dumped 76,387 shares of media/entertainment giant Disney (DIS), valued at $7.1 million. The company’s stock has fallen 41% year to date.
Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) unloaded 36,677 shares of online arts-and-crafts market Etsy (ETSY), valued at $2.6 million. The company’s stock has lost 65% year to date.
Trailing the S&P 500
As Ark funds have tumbled in recent months, Wood has defended herself by noting that she has a five-year investment horizon.
And the five-year track record of Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) could have given investors comfort, until May 9. The fund’s five-year return beat that of the S&P 500 until then. But the five-year annualized return of Ark Innovation totaled 7.99% through June 21, behind the S&P 500’s 11.07% return.
Ark Innovation has sunk 58% so far this year, as Wood’s tech companies have hit the skids. And it’s down 74% from its February 2021 peak. Raging inflation and soaring interest rates have helped put the kibosh on tech stocks.
Wood’s investors are starting to cut bait just a bit. Ark Innovation suffered a net outflow of $16.4 million in the month through June 20, according to VettaFi, an ETF research firm. The fund still had a $1.3 billion inflow for the six months through that date.
Deflation Risk
Meanwhile, Wood has said she sees deflation as a greater risk than inflation. Price gauges like the consumer price index (CPI) are lagging indicators, she said. The CPI soared 8.6% in the 12 months through May, a 40-year high.
Wood prefers indicators like the price of gold, which hasn’t moved a lot from a year ago, and the dollar, which has risen sharply.
Costs are dropping for her technologies, too, such as artificial intelligence training, genomic sequencing and battery prices for electric cars. Those technologies will have a huge impact on the economy, she said.
