By Angela Palumbo
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest bought up millions of dollars worth of Tesla this week as the stock finished a dismal quarter.
Wood's Ark Innovation ETF bought 65,514 shares of Tesla, according to a trading notification Thursday. That cost around $14 million. The fund also bought 133,334 shares of the EV maker in an update Monday, which cost around $28 million.
Tesla is currently the second top holding in the ETF out of 38 stocks.
Wood, who is also responsible for the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF, Ark Fintech Innovation ETF, and ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF, looks to be taking advantage of a turbulent couple of months for Tesla. The stock was the worst performer in the S&P 500 for the first quarter, dropping 29%. That was Tesla's worst quarter since December 2022 and worst first quarter on record.
Tesla reported disappointing earnings in January while management said that automotive sales growth would be lower in 2024 than the prior year. Then Bloomberg reported last week that the company was cutting production at its Shanghai plant, hinting at slowing EV demand.
This year's stock decline is in stark contrast to the approximate 100% gain shares had in 2023. Tesla is one of the so called "Magnificent 7" stocks that jumped last year as investors bought up shares of big tech companies over the excitement of the future of generative artificial intelligence.
But for those who pay close attention to Wood's trades, this move shouldn't come as a surprise -- she's clearly a fan of the stock. In an interview with CNBC in January, the investor said that when the stock is "soaring and everybody is excited about the good news as we move towards electric vehicles, we will take profits."
Wood added that the fund remains bullish on Tesla because she believes that "in five years, most car sales will be electric."
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 29, 2024 08:13 ET (12:13 GMT)
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