Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood rose to fame when the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by her investment firm soared by over 100% each in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wood is popular for her singular investing strategies and bets on disruptive, high-growth firms, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), genome development, autonomous robots, space exploration, cryptocurrency, and 3D printing.
She often makes bold trades, believing that today’s disruptive innovation will shape tomorrow’s future.
Yesterday, Wood’s Ark Invest made several portfolio changes, investing millions of dollars in Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD), the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF, and selling shares of BTC ETF and biotech firms.
Buying The Robinhood Dip
Wood purchased 60,266 shares of Robinhood Markets, valued at roughly £1.85 million ($2.45 million), on Wednesday. The stock price declined by over 7% to close at £30.73 ($40.66) following US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s warnings about rising inflation and threats emerging from the escalating trade war with China. Powell’s comments sparked further volatility in the stock market, dragging down benchmark indexes by several percentage points, as he forecast softer growth for Q1 2025.
Benchmark indexes, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones, were down between 3% and 1.73% on Wednesday.
Robinhood relies primarily on retail trading. Hence, the stock price could be strongly correlated with market volatility since its user base of mostly retail investors might lower trading activity during economic upheavals, putting downward pressure on the brokerage’s revenue streams and overall performance.
Buys 500,000 Shares of a New Solana Staking ETF Trade
Ark Invest also bought 500,000 shares of the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF (SOLQ.U) via its Ark Fintech Innovation and Ark Next Generation Internet ETFs for an estimated £3.92 million ($5.20 million) based on Wednesday’s closing price of £7.81 ($10.34).
The Solana Staking ETF was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday. The fund’s top investors include SkyBridge Capital, which was founded by Anthony Scaramucci. The new ETF prioritises investing in long-term holdings of Solana purchased from over-the-counter counterparties and strives to offer investors lucrative ‘staking rewards.’ According to a 3iQ press release release, the fund describes itself as the first Digital Assets Managed Account Platform globally.
The new ETF listing potentially played a role in driving Solana prices by almost 6% to over £100.45 ($132.95) per token in the past day.
Wood Offloads Shares in Bitcoin ETF and Biotech Firms
Wood’s ARK Next Generation Internet ETF fund offloaded 31,817 shares worth £2.04 million ($2.7 million) of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, which closed at £63.60 ($84.15) yesterday. However, this trade coincided with signs of recovery across BTC ETFs following extreme downward pressure in recent weeks. Bitcoin ETFs reportedly witnessed over £57.43 million ($76 million) in net inflows, signalling a comeback after massive outflows. Bitcoin prices were marginally up 0.46% at £63,717 ($84,312.30) in the past day.
Wood also sold nearly 10,000 shares of multiple biotech firms, including Repare Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RPTX) and Prime Medicine (NASDAQ:PRME) collectively in her latest investment move.
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