Cathie Wood, the renowned growth investor at ARK Invest, has been actively “bargain hunting” across multiple trading days, scooping up shares in various disruptive innovators. From semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices and e-commerce behemoth Amazon to cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike and pre-revenue nuclear tech company Oklo, Wood’s strategy consistently involves adding to positions when stocks face significant sell-offs or short-term challenges, aligning with her long-term conviction in their transformative potential.
Cathie Wood, the visionary founder, CEO, and ace stock picker at ARK Invest, has long been a polarizing figure in the investment community. Known for her aggressive growth style and high-conviction bets on disruptive technologies, Wood’s performance has seen significant swings. After generating monster returns in 2020 and navigating subsequent challenges, her strategies appear to be back on track, with ARK’s most popular exchange-traded fund soaring 25% over the past three months and 36% over the past six months as of late 2024.
Wood’s consistent approach involves publishing ARK’s transactions daily, offering a real-time glimpse into her “bargain hunting” tactics. She often adds to existing stakes when companies experience significant pullbacks, viewing these dips as opportunities to accumulate long-term winners. This deep dive explores a series of her recent purchases, revealing the underlying rationale and the fan community’s perspective on these bold moves.
Friday, Late December 2024: Betting on AI, Satellites, and Healthcare Innovation
As 2024 drew to a close, Wood added to her positions in three stocks that were all trading lower for the year, showcasing her classic “buy the dip” mentality:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Despite a challenging 2024, seeing its stock trade 15% lower, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) remains a high-conviction AI play for Wood. The computing semiconductor specialist experienced a 52-week low earlier in December, even as the broader market surged. While its artificial intelligence (AI) chips business is booming, with its data center segment skyrocketing 122% in its latest quarter and accounting for over half of its $6.8 billion top line, other segments have struggled. Layoffs affecting 4% of its global workforce and the resignation of its chief accounting officer further compounded concerns. Analysts have issued cautionary short-term outlooks, with Wolfe Research suggesting AMD’s AI business might only reach $7 billion next year, below peers’ $10 billion models. However, AMD has consistently topped analyst earnings estimates for three consecutive quarters, and its shares trade at less than 25 times forward earnings, a more attractive multiple than some leading AI rivals.
Iridium (IRDM)
The satellite communications specialist, Iridium, also caught Wood’s eye despite a 28% drop in its stock for 2024. Unlike AMD, Iridium’s growth has been sluggish, with single-digit revenue increases in five of the last six years. Its service revenue, which forms the lion’s share of its business, was projected to climb only 5% for all of 2024, with deceleration expected in 2025. It has also missed market earnings estimates in two of the first three quarters of the year. However, Iridium boasts a growing subscriber base, reaching nearly 2.5 million total billable subscribers, an 11% jump year-over-year. The company has also demonstrated a commitment to shareholders, returning over $1 billion through share buybacks and dividends since 2021. Its specialized services and strength in both government and commercial markets likely position it as a foundational disruptor within ARK’s investment thesis.
Tempus AI (TEM)
Tempus AI, a provider of practical applications for the healthcare industry, saw Wood increase her stake after a significant plunge. The stock initially soared after its June IPO at $37, peaking near $80, but then gave back all those gains and more, dropping 56% from its November peak. Wood, known for her risk tolerance, added to her position on nine different trading days in December, viewing the severe pessimism as overdone. While Tempus AI is far from profitability, its expanding line of diagnostic tools represents a significant long-term opportunity in AI-driven healthcare, aligning perfectly with ARK’s focus on innovative disruptors.
Thursday, Early February 2025: Gaming, E-commerce, and Cloud Monitoring
In early February, Wood continued her opportunistic buying, focusing on names that had recently faced market pressure:
Roblox (RBLX)
Shares of Roblox plummeted 11% following a poorly received financial update, creating an opportunity for Wood to buy additional shares across three of her ETFs. The online gaming platform developer delivered a “beat and graze” performance for its fourth quarter. Revenue rose an accelerating 32% to $988 million, topping guidance, and it posted a smaller deficit than expected. However, bookings—a critical metric—rose a weaker-than-expected 21% and decelerated. Bookings per daily active user (DAU) also saw only a 1% rise, despite overall DAU growth of 19% to 85.3 million. Despite the immediate market reaction, Wood’s conviction likely stems from the platform’s growing audience, its stickiness, and robust free cash flow generation, which is projected to exceed $800 million even with an annual loss over $1 billion.
Amazon (AMZN)
Wood also acquired shares of Amazon before the online retailing giant posted its fourth-quarter results. The company reported strong headline numbers, with net sales up 10% to $187.8 billion and its cloud-hosting Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform growing 19%. Profitability also surged, with net income of $1.86 per share well ahead of expectations. However, Amazon’s guidance for the current quarter proved uninspiring, projecting 5% to 9% net sales growth, with operating income forecast for only a 5% rise. This deceleration, after three consecutive years of sub-12% net sales growth, suggests a rough start to 2025. Wood’s pre-earnings purchase highlights her readiness to bet on established giants facing temporary slowdowns, anticipating a long-term rebound.
PagerDuty (PD)
After a hiatus since late September, Wood resumed her aggressive buying of PagerDuty shares. The cloud-based provider of enterprise analytics and uptime monitoring solutions has been a laggard, with its stock down 20% over the past year. Revenue growth has shown a steady deceleration over the past two years, from 34% in Q2 2023 to 8% in Q1 and Q2 2025. However, the company’s fiscal third quarter saw a slight acceleration in revenue, and its dollar-based net retention rate, a key SaaS metric, has begun to rise again. Wood’s renewed interest suggests a belief that PagerDuty could return to double-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2026, marking her timing as potentially more opportune now than during her earlier buying spree.
Friday, Late June 2025: Cyber Security, Nuclear Energy, and DevOps
Wood’s bargain hunting continued into June, picking up three more stocks that had faced recent headwinds:
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD)
CrowdStrike Holdings, a prominent cybersecurity specialist, saw its shares plummet 11% after a platform update caused a widespread IT outage, grounding flights and impacting critical services for banks and hospitals. Despite this significant operational misstep and hit to its reputation, Wood added to her position. The stock had already doubled over the past year and more than tripled over the past five years, reflecting its strong underlying business. CrowdStrike turned profitable on a reported basis last year and has consistently delivered “beat and raise” performances. Wood’s purchase indicates a belief that the long-term strength of its Falcon line of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions will overcome the short-term reputational damage, provided another outage doesn’t occur.
Oklo (OKLO)
A more speculative bet, Oklo, a fast fission tech and nuclear recycling company, was another purchase despite its stock being down 18% in 2024 and shedding over half its value since a May peak. Oklo has traded publicly for three years but has yet to generate any revenue, with analysts not anticipating sales until at least 2027. Losses are growing in the interim. However, Oklo recently announced the successful completion of the first end-to-end demonstration of its advanced fuel recycling process. This highly patient, long-term investment aligns with Wood’s strategy of backing companies with groundbreaking potential in clean energy, even if profitability is years away.
GitLab (GTLB)
GitLab, an open-source platform that helps tech teams build, test, and deploy software, also saw Wood increase her stake despite its stock being down 15% in 2024. While the company still boasts impressive growth, its revenue deceleration has been a concern for investors. After three fiscal years of over 66% top-line growth, revenue rose “just” 37% last year, with analysts expecting a further slowdown to 27% this fiscal year. Despite the stock not being “cheap,” GitLab has consistently landed ahead of Wall Street’s profit targets over the past four quarters. Wood’s investment suggests a conviction that the company’s flexible DevOps platform will continue to see strong adoption, justifying its valuation.
Monday, Late October 2025: E-commerce, Sports Betting, and Fintech
Most recently, in late October, Wood continued to add to positions, particularly in large-cap and mid-cap disruptors:
Amazon (AMZN)
For the second time in less than a year, Amazon reappeared on Wood’s buying list. This time, ARK Invest added to its position amidst news that Amazon was preparing to lay off as many as 30,000 corporate employees, representing less than 2% of its massive 1.54 million workforce. This move follows an earlier AWS outage in October and positions Amazon as the worst performer among the “Magnificent Seven” in 2025, with a market-lagging 3% year-to-date return. While growth has been steady but uninspiring (9-12% net sales increases over the past three years), its high-margin AWS and international e-commerce segments are growing faster than the overall business, with domestic sluggishness and near-term tariff concerns weighing on sentiment. Wood’s purchase ahead of its third-quarter results announcement highlights her confidence in Amazon’s ability to navigate these headwinds and its enduring market position, as reported by Reuters.
DraftKings (DKNG)
Online sportsbook operator DraftKings also found its way onto Wood’s shopping list, despite its shares being down 14% this year after more than tripling in 2023. The company is facing disruption from the booming event-based prediction markets, which have lowered barriers to entry in the online betting industry. Recognizing this shift, DraftKings is proactively acquiring a smaller predictions market platform operator to integrate this emerging niche into its offerings. Wood’s investment here suggests a belief in DraftKings’ ability to adapt and maintain its leadership in a rapidly evolving, competitive landscape.
Block (SQ)
Block, formerly known as Square, was Wood’s largest purchase in October across three of ARK’s ETFs. The fintech pioneer, which encompasses Square (point-of-sale), CashApp (digital wallet), and Afterpay (buy now, pay later), has seen its stock decline 5% this year. The company reported revenue declines in back-to-back quarters to kick off 2025, and while analysts project a return to top-line growth for the upcoming third-quarter report, this is expected to come with a sharp decline in profitability. Fears of waning consumer spending in the fourth quarter add further pressure. Wood’s substantial investment in Block reflects a deep conviction in its comprehensive fintech ecosystem and its long-term potential to disrupt traditional financial services, despite current growth and profitability concerns, as covered by The Motley Fool.
The ARK Invest Philosophy: High Conviction Through Volatility
Cathie Wood’s consistent strategy of buying shares in companies facing short-term headwinds, market skepticism, or operational challenges is a hallmark of ARK Invest’s disruptive innovation thesis. She looks beyond current performance to the long-term potential of these companies to fundamentally change their respective industries. For the fan community, these moves present both exciting opportunities and significant risks. While some see Wood’s actions as a testament to her visionary insights, others caution that “bargains” can sometimes be value traps, especially for highly speculative or pre-revenue ventures.
Investors following Wood’s lead must possess a similar conviction and a high tolerance for volatility. Her purchases often anticipate future growth curves that the broader market has yet to fully appreciate, or they bet on the recovery of strong fundamentals once temporary issues subside. The success of these recent buys will largely depend on the ability of these companies to execute their long-term strategies, innovate, and regain investor confidence in the face of ongoing market dynamics.
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