Cathie Wood, chief executive of Ark Investment Management, bought one of her bread-and-butter stocks Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks.
She also made very small trades in two other familiar names.
DON’T MISS: Cathie Wood Backs Out of One Investment She Previously Praised
Ark funds snagged 64,774 shares of video streaming platform Roku (ROKU) Thursday, valued at $4 million as of that day’s close. This was Wood’s first purchase of Roku since March 13.
The stock has dropped 48% over the past year amid intense competition in the streaming industry. But it has soared 60% so far this year, helped by strong earnings and the technology sector’s rebound. Roku is the third biggest holding in Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK).
Also, Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) snatched 7,591 shares of Block (SQ), valued at $519,900 as of Thursday’s close.
Block stock has slid 10% since March 21, as short sellers Hindenburg Research published a blistering criticism of the financial services company. It has lost 48% over the last year, but has rebounded 11% so far this year. Block is the third biggest holding in Ark Fintech Innovation.
On the selling side, Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) dumped 1,304 shares of Exact Sciences (EXAS), valued at $86,400 as of Thursday’s close. The company is a medical diagnostics provider known for its Cologuard at-home colon cancer test.
Exact Sciences stock has ascended 38% thus far in 2023, buoyed by strong earnings but has descended 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 biggest holding in Ark Genomic Revolution.
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 39% during that period and 75% from its February 2021 peak.
Nonetheless, the fund has bounced back 29% 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 $7.4 billion-asset Ark Innovation was only 0.97% through March 30, compared with 10.87% 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.
She may be losing her popularity. Ark Innovation suffered a net investment outflow of $304 million during the five days through March 24. But it enjoyed a net inflow of $156 million over the last year, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
