Cathie Wood is buying the dip in Tesla Inc. Even as Wall Street sours on the stock.
The fund manager has scooped up nearly 690,000 shares of the electric-vehicle maker across two exchange-traded funds operated by her firm ARK Investment Management in January. The ETFs spent an estimated $141 million on shares, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on share closing prices.
Wood has been a long-time Tesla bull but had mostly sold shares for three straight quarters before the current buying streak. Her flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ticker ARKK) and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) — have Tesla as their third and sixth largest holdings, respectively.
Tesla has dropped 25% so far this month as the auto industry warns about plunging demand for EVs and Wall Street analysts scale back expectations for the stock. Wood’s flagship fund is down nearly 10%, but that’s after it gained 68% in 2023.
Tesla shares tanked after Wednesday’s fourth-quarter earnings report, when the company said it expected to expand at a “notably lower” rate in 2024. Following the results, Wood bought over 360,000 shares on Thursday and Friday.
Wood has been a long-time fan of Elon Musk’s EV company. ARK’s research team projects the stock will hit $2,000 in 2027, with Tesla’s robotaxi business a key driver. The investor often says her firm backs companies poised to change the world, and she has a five-year investment timeframe.
“We think it shows conviction in the long-term story and we believe a lot of investors were waiting for a buying opportunity after TSLA shares more than doubled last year,” said Garrett Nelson, vice president and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research. “They are getting that opportunity now with the stock’s year-to-date selloff.”