Cathie Wood, chief executive of Ark Investment Management, traded a few big names Tuesday, including one that she hadn’t touched since January.
That was Intuit (INTU), the accounting and tax software company. Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) bought 32,187 shares of Intuit, valued at $13.6 million as of Tuesday’s close.
The stock has climbed 8% so far this year amid strong earnings, though it has slumped 11% over the last 12 months
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Meanwhile, after buying shares of Coinbase Global (COIN) for almost five months, Wood dumped some Tuesday. Coinbase is the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. Ark Fintech Innovation unloaded 160,887 shares valued at $13.5 million.
The company’s shares have tumbled 55% over the past 12 months amid turmoil in the cryptocurrency market. But they have more than doubled this year, helped by bitcoin’s recovery. Coinbase is the third biggest holding in Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK).
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Ark Selling Exact Sciences
Ark funds sold 67,069 shares of Exact Sciences (EXAS), valued at $4.5 million as of Tuesday’s close. The company is a medical diagnostics provider famous for its Cologuard at-home colon cancer test.
Exact Sciences stock has ascended 34% thus far in 2023, buoyed by strong earnings and has gained 4% over the last year. Ark has shed more than 3 million of the company’s shares since the beginning of this year. But Exact Sciences is still the sixth biggest holding in Ark Innovation.
Wood’s Lagging Returns
Meanwhile, Wood’s performance hasn’t exactly lit the investment world on fire over the past year, as her young technology stocks have slumped. Ark Innovation has descended 41% during that period and 75% from its February 2021 peak.
Still, the fund has bounced back 27% so far this year, as tech stocks have rebounded in general.
Mama Cathie, as Wood is known to her fans, defends her strategy by noting that she has a five-year investment horizon. But the five-year annualized return of $7.7 billion-asset Ark Innovation was just 0.15% through March 21, compared with 10.02% for the S&P 500.
The fund’s performance also doesn’t come close to Wood’s goal for annualized returns of 15% over five-year periods.
Ark Innovation enjoyed a net investment inflow of $308 million during the past five days but suffered an $164 million outflow over the last year, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
