Cathie Wood surprisingly sells $1.6 million of hot stock
Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, often chases tech companies she sees at the front of innovation.
But she doesn’t sit still on her bets. Her funds often move in and out of positions within just days.
That’s what she just did, selling shares of a popular tech stock just days after buying in.
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Wood’s funds have experienced a volatile ride this year, swinging from sharp losses to strong gains.
In January and February, the Ark funds rallied as investors bet on the Trump administration’s potential deregulation that could benefit Wood’s tech bets.
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But the momentum faded in March and April, with the funds trailing the market as top holdings — especially Tesla, Wood’s biggest position — slid amid growing concerns over the macroeconomy and trade policies.
Now, the Ark funds are making a strong comeback. As of Aug. 25, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 31.7% year-to-date, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 9.7% gain.
Wood’s remarkable return of 153% in 2020 helped build her reputation and attract loyal investors. Her strategy can lead to sharp gains during bull markets but also painful losses, like in 2022, when ARKK dropped more than 60%.
Those swings have weighed on her long-term results. As of Aug. 22, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of negative 2.7%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 15.5% over the same period.
Wood’s investment strategy is straightforward: Her Ark ETFs typically buy shares in emerging high-tech companies in fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics.
She says these companies have the potential to reshape industries, but their volatility leads to major fluctuations in Ark funds’ values.
Related: Cathie Wood’s net worth: The Ark Invest CEO’s wealth & income
Over the 10 years ending in 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking.
Still, Wood has been bullish on the market. In a letter to investors published in late April, she dismissed predictions of a recession dragging into 2026 and struck an optimistic tone for tech stocks.
“During the current turbulent transition in the U.S., we think consumers and businesses are likely to accelerate the shift to technologically enabled innovation platforms including artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, blockchain technology, and multiomics sequencing,” she said.
Not all investors share this optimism. Over the past 12 months through Aug. 21, the Ark Innovation ETF saw $1.6 billion in net outflows, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi.
On Aug. 21, Wood’s ARK Fintech innovation ETF (ARKF) sold 14,914 shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) worth roughly $1.6 million.
That came right after two sizable purchases last week: 123,336 shares on Aug. 18 and 150,908 shares on Aug. 19, worth a combined $30 million.
Related: $34 billion hedge fund buys more Nvidia stock, sells DoorDash
Robinhood is an online brokerage that went public in 2021. It offers retail investors stocks, options, and crypto trading through its app.
In July, Robinhood reported second-quarter earnings of 42 cents a share, topping Wall Street’s forecast of 35 cents. Revenue came in at $989 million, ahead of the $913.3 million consensus. The brokerage’s funded accounts rose by 2.3 million, or 10% year-over-year, to 26.5 million.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the company’s strong business results were “driven by relentless product velocity.” He also said the company launched tokenization, which in data security refers to converting sensitive information into a nonsensitive digital replacement, or token.
“I believe [this] is the biggest innovation our industry has seen in the past decade,” he said.
Several analysts have lifted their price targets for Robinhood stock after the earnings.
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev raised the firm’s price target on Robinhood to $120 from $99 and reiterated an outperform rating, citing the company’s “big quarter” and accelerating year-over-year growth in funded accounts, thefly reported.
Mizuho also views Robinhood’s asset tokenization and expansion into lending as “particularly interesting.”
Last week, Bernstein raised its price target on Robinhood to $160 from $105, the highest on Wall Street. The firm reiterated an outperform rating.
Fund manager buys and sells
Bernstein says the Trump administration is pushing to make the U.S. the global hub for crypto and sees the bull market lasting into 2026, with a possible peak in 2027. The firm argues that Robinhood’s mix of equities, crypto, and financial services makes it more predictable.
“Robinhood’s diversified model offers crypto upside without the same volatility as pure-play exchanges,” the analysts said.
Robinhood stocks were traded at around $108 on Aug. 25, up 191% year-to-date.
Wood first bought into Robinhood in the third quarter of 2021. It was Ark Invest’s fourth-largest holding at the end of the second quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
Wood trimmed her Robinhood stake by 2.46 million shares in the second quarter, a 24% cut. Even so, the Ark funds still owned 7.8 million shares worth about $729 million at the end of June, accounting for 5.34% of the portfolio.
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This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Investing News, Analysis, and Tips section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.