Cathie Wood, chief executive of Ark Investment Management, bought shares of a specialty software company and sold shares of an online sports gambling company Friday.
All the valuations below are as of Friday’s close.
Ark funds purchased 203,467 shares of Unity Software (U), valued at $6.2 million. The company provides software for creating interactive 3D content. Its customers include video-game and architecture companies.
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Unity’s revenue totaled $1.39 billion last year, up 25% from 2021. It registered a loss of $919 million, widening from $533 million a year earlier.
Unity’s stock has dropped 66% over the last year, but has rebounded 7% year to date. It’s the 12th biggest holding in Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK).
Also Friday, Ark funds dumped 347,286 shares of DraftKings (DKNG), the online sports gambling platform, valued at $6.4 million.
DraftKings stock has gained 13% in the past year and 62% year to date, amid strength in the sports-gambling market. DraftKings is the 11th biggest holding in Ark Innovation ETF.
Wood Sells Alphabet, Exact Sciences
For the first time since last July, Wood traded technology colossus Alphabet (GOOG), with Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) shedding 1,000 shares, valued at $107,000.
Alphabet has lost 18% in the last year, but has bounced back 20%, mirroring the overall technology sector in both directions. It is the 12th biggest holding in Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics.
Finally, Ark funds unloaded 5,231 shares of Exact Sciences (EXAS), valued at $348,000. The company is a medical diagnostics provider famous for its Cologuard at-home colon cancer test.
The stock has ascended 35% thus far in 2023, buoyed by strong earnings, but has eased 1% over the last 12 months.
Ark has shed more than 3 million shares of Exact Sciences since Jan. 1. But it’s still the sixth biggest holding in Ark Innovation ETF.
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 36% during that period and 76% from its February 2021 peak.
Nonetheless, the fund has bounced back 24% 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 0.57% through April 7, compared with 11.05% 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.
Ark Innovation suffered a net investment outflow of $216 million during the past five days, but enjoyed an inflow of $790 million over the last year, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
