Cathie Wood-led ArkInvestmentManagement on Monday sharply raised its exposure in the Chinese automaker BYD Co but stayed away from buying shares in her favorite electric vehicle stock Tesla Inc and peer Xpeng Inc on the dip.
The popular stock-picking firm bought 53,228 shares — estimated to be worth $2.3 million based on Monday’s closing price— in the Shenzhen, China headquartered automaker that is quickly switching to making new energy vehicles.
OTC stock of BYD, backed by BerkshireHathawayInc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Chairman Buffett, closed 8.75% lower at $43.3 a share on Monday. The stock is down 38% year-to-date.
Tesla and Xpeng shares closed 3.6% lower and 13.8% lower, respectively, on Monday. This was Ark Invest’s first buy in BYD so far this year.
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based Ark Invest held 266,986 shares — worth $12.7 million — in BYD via the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ARKQ ahead of Monday's trade. No other ARK ETF owns shares in BYD.
The latest buy represents a 16.6% boost in Ark Invest’s stake in BYD.
Buffett owned about an 8% stake in the automaker that competes with Tesla and homegrown Chinese electric vehicle startups such as Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto Inc.
In February, BYD sold more than double electric vehicles than the combined delivery volumes of Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto.