Cathie Wood’s family of funds wasted no time pouncing on weakness in shares of Block after a short-seller report.
Three of Wood’s funds, including the flagship ARK Innovation ETF
ARKK,
bought stock in Block
SQ,
on Thursday after the publication of a report by Hindenburg Research, which accused the payments company of “reporting inflated user metrics.” Block called the report misleading and said it would explore legal action against Hindenburg.
Block shares ended 15% lower.
Wood’s funds altogether spent $21 million buying Block shares, as they also ponied up $18 million for shares of Coinbase Global
COIN,
which fell 14% after reporting it was likely to be sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The fund manager helped fund the buy by reducing its stake in Tesla
TSLA,
though the electric vehicle maker is still the leading holding by some distance in the ARK Innovation ETF.
The ARK Innovation ETF has jumped 21% after a losing year in 2022. The ARK Next Generation Internet ETF
ARKW,
has gained 30% this year, and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF
ARKF,
has rallied 24%.
