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Tag: Cathie Wood

  • Analyst Predicts XRP Price Will Hit $100 Before Bitcoin Hits $1 Million

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    A crypto analyst has issued a decisive projection that challenges the long timelines often associated with major price milestones for Bitcoin. His outlook was presented in response to the ultra-bullish forecasts from Michael Saylor and Jack Mallers, who have spoken openly about the possibility of Bitcoin reaching between $1 million and $20 million per coin. 

    Rather than focusing on Bitcoin’s distant targets, the analyst directed attention to XRP, insisting that XRP will reach $100 long before Bitcoin touches the seven-figure mark.

    Analyst Says XRP Will Reach $100 Before Bitcoin’s Million-Dollar Target

    There have been many bullish predictions of Bitcoin breaking above the $1 million mark in recent months, with notable names like Michael Saylor and Cathie Wood pointing to million-dollar targets. 

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    However, an analyst who goes by the name 24HRSCRYPTO on the social media platform X referenced Saylor and Mallers’ price prediction, which places future Bitcoin valuations in the tens of millions per coin and implies a market cap approaching $500 trillion. He contrasted those long-range projections with what he believes is a more attainable and nearer-term milestone for XRP. 

    Punching in the numbers shows that XRP is a 4,445% move away from $100 based on its current price level of around $2.2. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is 990% away from the $1 million price.

    Even with that difference, the analyst noted, “You will see XRP at $100 before Bitcoin hits $1 million.” The statement points to the view that XRP is positioned for faster price growth in the foreseeable future, as seen by price dynamics in the past few months. The crypto is increasingly being positioned in a situation where demand and adoption of the Ripple ecosystem could take it to new heights.

    On the other hand, Bitcoin’s price action is slowing down relative to XRP. Notably, technical analysis of the XRP/BTC pair places XRP on the path to outperforming Bitcoin in the coming weeks and months. 

    The Altcoin Will Hit $1,000 Before Bitcoin Touches $19 Million

    The analyst extended his projection even further by asserting that XRP could rally to $1,000 before Bitcoin comes close to the $19 million figure referenced by Saylor. Such a valuation for Bitcoin would imply a market capitalization of roughly $500 trillion, a scale far beyond anything seen in global financial history. 

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    Measured from today’s levels, Bitcoin would need to climb roughly 20,635% to reach the $19 million mark. XRP’s path to $1,000 amounts to an even larger jump of about 45,300%, which corresponds to a market cap of $60 trillion based on its current circulating supply. Still, XRP reaching $1,000 is, in his view, more feasible than Bitcoin reaching millions per coin.

    XRP trading at $2.19 on the 1D chart | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com

    Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

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    Scott Matherson

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  • ARK Investment’s Cathie Wood defends strategy in letter to investors

    ARK Investment’s Cathie Wood defends strategy in letter to investors

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    By Suzanne McGee

    (Reuters) – Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management, defended the strategy of the firm’s money-losing flagship fund, telling investors in a letter released late on Wednesday that its fortunes will reverse when interest rates fall.

    The ARK Innovation ETF fund has taken investors on a rollercoaster ride in recent years. After a 67.6% gain in 2023, the ETF is down more than 12% so far this year. That compares to a gain of 16.9% for the S&P 500 index so far in 2024, closing above 5,600 for the first time Wednesday.

    ARK’s ETF, meanwhile, has seen net outflows of more than $1.8 billion in the last six months, according to data from VettaFi.

    In a letter posted on ARK’s website, Wood wrote she fully acknowledged “the macro environment and some stock picks have challenged our recent performance.” Nonetheless, she added, “our conviction in and commitment to investing in disruptive innovation have not wavered.”

    ARK’s top investments as of May 31 were Tesla, Coinbase and Roku, according to LSEG data.

    Wood argued many of the fund’s holdings were now in “rare, deep value territory” and poised to benefit disproportionately once interest rate cuts begin. She anticipated another blockbuster period for returns that would resemble the fund’s 152.8% gains during the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

    “Exiting our strategies now would crystallize losses that lower interest rates and reversions to the mean should transform into meaningful profits during the next few years,” Wood wrote. “We are resolute!”

    ARK did not respond immediately to a request for further comment on the letter.

    Morningstar, the Chicago-based investment analysis company, earlier this year calculated that ARK’s losses had destroyed $14.3 billion in shareholder value in the 10 years ended December 31, 2023. ARK and Wood did not respond to requests for comment on that report.

    Wood believes a key to future returns will lie in artificial intelligence-related investments – but not necessarily in market darling Nvidia and other megacaps.

    In the letter, she said she expected to see “a more diverse set of winners to which the current equity market concentration should give way.”

    (Reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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  • Cathie Wood Goes Bargain Hunting: 3 Stocks She Just Bought

    Cathie Wood Goes Bargain Hunting: 3 Stocks She Just Bought

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    These are challenging times for Cathie Wood’s style of investing. The co-founder, CEO, and investor at Ark Invest finds her family of aggressive growth exchange-traded funds losing to the market for the third time in four years in 2024. Can she get back on track? She is certainly not standing still.

    Ark Invest made plenty of moves on Tuesday, adding to nine of her existing positions. Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU), Blade Air Mobility (NASDAQ: BLDE), and PagerDuty (NYSE: PD) are some of the names on that shopping list. Let’s take a closer look.

    1. Roku

    It’s not just Roku’s 81.6 million households that are binge viewing on Roku. Wood has added to her position for four consecutive trading days. Is “binge investing” a thing? Ark Invest now owns more than 9% of Roku’s total shares outstanding.

    Like many of the stocks that propelled Wood’s funds to market-thumping returns in 2000 and then again in 2023, Roku was a rock star last year. Shares of the streaming video platform more than doubled. This year has been anything but a welcome rerun. Roku has tumbled 40% in 2024, a laggard that’s buffering in an otherwise buoyant market.

    Someone curled on a couch while channel surfing.

    Image source: Getty Images.

    Roku is still growing. The number of households leaning on Roku’s operating system to fuel their TV streaming has risen 14% over the past year. Engagement is even better, as the hours streamed in its latest quarter soared 23% in its latest quarter.

    There are a couple of things holding Roku back. After a brief profitable run, Roku has now rattled nine consecutive quarterly deficits. It has come through with three straight quarters of positive free cash flow — and nine-figure free cash flow, at that — but investors will applaud the moment that Roku returns to actual profitability.

    Another thing holding Roku back is the fear that Walmart entering this space after announcing plans to acquire a small Roku rival could prove disruptive. This isn’t ideal, but it doesn’t seem like a game changer. Regulators have yet to approve the deal, and even if it does clear antitrust hurdles it’s not as if Roku isn’t ready. It’s been battling some of the country’s most valuable consumer and consumer tech companies for years. It’s more than holding its own.

    Average revenue per user has also been sluggish, but Roku could be turning that corner. It has experienced just one sequential decline in the last four quarters on that front. With streaming hours outpacing active user growth it’s just a matter of time before advertisers spend more of their money where viewers are spending more of their time.

    2. Blade Air Mobility

    Compared to Roku’s 40% year-to-date plunge, Blade Air Mobility’s 9% dip in 2024 is a small air pocket of turbulence. Blade Air provides on-demand helicopter transport services, primarily to get well-to-do passengers from airports to city centers in densely populated markets. Getting from JFK to the heart of Manhattan in just five minutes obviously has its appeal if you can afford the convenience. Blade also works with hospitals and other medical partners for the timely transport of organs.

    Revenue rose 14% to $51.5 million in its latest quarter, and the top-line jump would’ve been 22% if you back out the BladeOne scheduled jet service between New York and South Florida that it discontinued last year. Margins are improving, but it’s still a couple of years away from profitability.

    Growth has slowed from the torrid pace in 2021 and 2022 when revenue more than doubled in back-to-back years. There are a few publicly traded players in this high-end, short-flight air transport niche, but Blade stands out as an early player. It’s investing in high-tech and carbon-neutral electric vertical aircraft to keep up with some of the younger players, but the market for short flights will be a long battle.

    3. PagerDuty

    PagerDuty is down just 5% this year, but it’s been a frequent purchase for Ark Invest lately. Wood has added shares of the cloud-based provider of enterprise analytics and uptime monitoring every single trading day in June.

    PagerDuty’s slowing growth is a concern. It’s been consistently decelerating for nearly two years, going from 34% top-line growth to just 8% in its latest financial update.

    • Q2 2023: 34%

    • Q3 2023: 31%

    • Q4 2023: 29%

    • Q1 2024: 21%

    • Q2 2024: 19%

    • Q3 2024: 15%

    • Q4 2024: 10%

    • Q1 2025: 8%

    It’s not just Wood who’s taking a shine to PagerDuty this month. Craig-Hallum analyst Chad Bennett assumed coverage of the stock two weeks ago, lifting the firm’s rating from hold to buy. He also bumped the stock’s price target from $21 to $30, translating into 37% of potential upside from where it’s at now. With top-line growth expected to accelerate later this year and PagerDuty posting double-digit percentage beats on the bottom line over the past year, it could be the right call.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Roku right now?

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    Rick Munarriz has positions in Roku. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends PagerDuty, Roku, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

    Cathie Wood Goes Bargain Hunting: 3 Stocks She Just Bought was originally published by The Motley Fool

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  • Cathie Wood Pulls the Trigger on These 2 ‘Strong Buy’ Stocks

    Cathie Wood Pulls the Trigger on These 2 ‘Strong Buy’ Stocks

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    Cathie Wood is famous for her singular investing style. Favoring high growth and disruptors, she often appears to be throwing caution to the wind and willing to tread where other Wall Street titans may fear to go.

    However, outré Wood’s strategy might seem to some, there’s one risk she’s not willing to take. Addressing the recent comeback of meme stocks, the Ark Invest CEO recently issued a warning to investors keen to get in on the action, sensibly warning that it will end badly for many piling into speculative names such as GameStop and AMC.

    “Buyer beware, there were a lot of people in the first meme stock craze who got hurt badly,” Wood commented.

    That said, it’s not as if Wood has suddenly turned to value investing for inspiration. Still following her playbook of exposure to innovators, we’ve decided to get the lowdown on two of the less lauded names that make up part of her Ark Invest portfolio.

    Here it appears that the Street is in sync with the Wood view; according to the TipRanks database, both these stocks are rated as Strong Buys by the analyst consensus. Let’s see why.

    Prime Medicine (PRME)

    The first Wood-backed stock we’ll look at fits Wood’s innovation-focused investing style perfectly. Prime Medicine is a biotech company operating at the forefront of gene editing. Founded in 2019, the company’s innovative approach centers on its Prime Editing platform, a breakthrough technology that allows for precise and flexible editing of the human genome.

    Unlike traditional CRISPR methods, which typically create double-strand breaks in DNA, Prime Editing uses a more refined method involving a ‘search-and-replace’ technique to make specific alterations. This method significantly reduces the risk of unintended mutations, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of genetic therapies.

    Prime Medicine’s tech holds promise for treating a wide array of genetic disorders, potentially providing cures for conditions that currently have limited or no treatment options. The company’s development efforts span key strategic areas, including hematology, liver, eye, neuromuscular, and lung, although most of the pipeline is still in the pre-clinical stage. One drug, however, is now advancing to the clinic.

    In April, the FDA gave the go-ahead for the company’s IND (investigational new drug) application for PM359, its Prime Editor indicated to treat chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). This is the first-ever Prime Editor product candidate to get this far and Prime plans on initiating a Phase 1/2 trial of the drug with an initial data readout from the study slated for 2025.

    Meanwhile, Wood significantly bolstered Ark Invest’s stake in PRME during Q1, acquiring 2.85 million shares. The firm’s total holdings now stand at nearly 5.99 million shares, currently worth $45.13 million.

    That will probably be considered a good move by Chardan analyst Geulah Livshits, who also likes the look of what’s on offer here.

    “The platform nature of its tech means the company should be able to move more quickly for subsequent programs using the same manufacturing and delivery tech,” explained the 5-star analyst. “Additionally, the current regulatory environment is highly supportive of transformative therapies for rare diseases, with FDA officials repeatedly indicating a desire to accelerate the development of such therapies including via greater engagement, use of surrogate endpoints and flexible trial designs. We believe this these factors can enable Prime to achieve sustained growth by advancing programs across and beyond its current pipeline.”

    “With Prime on track to initiate IND-enabling activities for 1+ programs in its in vivo liver franchise and to nominate a DC in for RHO adRP in 2024, we believe the company is positioned for value inflection as it transitions from developing a collection of (interesting) science projects to advancing a product pipeline,” Livshits went on to say.

    Bottom-line, Livshits rates PRME shares a Buy, while her $17 price target suggests the stock has room for outsized growth of 140% over the coming year. (To watch Livshits’ track record, click here)

    Livshits’ bullish take on PRME is no anomaly. All the 9 other recent analyst reviews are positive, naturally making the consensus view here a Strong Buy. With an average target of $15.33, investors could potentially see returns of ~104% within the next year. (See PRME stock forecast)

    AbSci (ABSI)

    We’ll stay in the biotech space for Wood’s next pick. AbSci is a company that makes use of the current market’s hottest trend – it utilizes generative AI for drug development.

    Describing itself as an AI drug creation company, AbSci’s platform can produce high-affinity antibodies targeting specific epitopes entirely through computer simulations. Reflecting their motto, “the data to train, the AI to create, and the wet lab to validate,” AbSci can generate antibody drug candidates much faster than traditional lab techniques. By streamlining what are traditionally laborious steps, AbSci aims to lower costs and reduce the time-to-market for new biologic drugs, thereby addressing critical needs in healthcare.

    This said, the pipeline is still in its early stages. Amongst drugs being developed, the company is working on ABS-101, potentially a best-in-class anti-TL1A antibody for which it initiated IND-enabling studies in February. The company anticipates Phase 1 clinical studies for ABS-101 will kick off early next year with an interim data readout slated for the second half of 2025. Additionally, proof-of-concept results for novel immune-oncology drug candidate ABS-301 are anticipated around mid-2024.

    As for Wood’s involvement, her firm, Ark Invest, initiated a new position in ABSI stock during Q1, acquiring nearly 3.28 million shares valued at $14.87 million.

    The company also has a fan in Scotiabank’s George Farmer, who thinks investors should clock an opportunity while still in its infancy.

    “We recommend buying ABSI shares to capture the value potential of the company’s novel AI based drug development strategy and the early-stage biologics pipeline on which it is based,” Farmer noted. “Why? Preclinical results to date support the competitive advantage that lead asset ABS-101, an AI-optimized anti-TL1A therapeutic, may have over existing agents in clinical development for addressing the massive inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment market.”

    To this end, Farmer rates ABSI as an Outperform (i.e., Buy), alongside a $13 price target. The implication for investors? Upside of a handsome 182% from current levels. (To watch Farmer’s track record, click here)

    Most of Farmer’s colleagues agree with his assessment. Based on a mix of 4 Buys against 1 Hold, the stock claims a Strong Buy consensus rating. The forecast calls for one-year returns of ~90%, considering the average price target stands at $8.75. (See ABSI stock forecast)

    To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

    Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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  • Analysts Identify Key Scenario For Bitcoin Hitting $100,000

    Analysts Identify Key Scenario For Bitcoin Hitting $100,000

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    Prior to the Bitcoin Halving event, BTC’s price saw considerable instability, but it has since rebounded, reaching the $66,000 level, triggering bullish predictions from top crypto analysts regarding the coin’s future path.

    Captain Faibik, a crytocurrency analyst and trader, has emerged with an intriguing prediction, underscoring a narrative that could potentially propel the price of Bitcoin to the coveted $100,000 mark in the upcoming months.

    Bitcoin Poised For A Notable Rally To $100,000 

    According to Captain Faibik, Bitcoin has managed to hold the $60,000 support level in the wake of bullish investors in the market. As a result, the largest crypto asset by market cap is currently making a strong comeback.

    These bullish investors, according to Faibik must reclaim the crucial $72,000 resistance level in order to see a major rally to the $100,000 price level. This scenario acts as a ray of hope for the cryptocurrency community, igniting speculations and influencing projections about Bitcoin’s potential for future growth. Given the anticipated impact of the Bitcoin Halving and bulls, the $72,000 level could be realized in the short term.

    Possible rally to $100,000 | Captain Faibik on X

    The expert previously highlighted that the Bitcoin weekly candle closed above the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) 10, demonstrating that the bulls are still very much in charge of the market. Following the Descending Channel break out in October last year, BTC Bulls has firmly secured the weekly EMA10, prompting the crypto analyst to put his next price target for the digital asset at $100,000.

    Faibik also noted that the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) for Bitcoin has emerged from a falling wedge pattern. This breakout suggests that a 15% to 20% bullish rally in Bitcoin’s value is on the horizon.

    Meanwhile, in the daily timeframe, a bullish flag formation is underway, and in the event of an upward breakout from the bullish flag, Faibik anticipates a new all-time high for Bitcoin by May.

    Is A $1.5 million Price Level Possible For BTC?

    One of the most bullish predictions for Bitcoin this year came from Ark Invest Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cathie Wood. The CEO foresees the digital asset to rise by over 2,000% reaching a whopping $1.5 million by 2030.

    During an interview in Hong Kong, Wood reiterated her projections for BTC, which were supported by a thorough investigation that included institution surveys and evaluations of market volatility.

    She stated:

    I have been asked this question from different angles, and our analysis from multiple perspectives indicates that by 2030, Bitcoin could rise to $1.5 million. This price prediction is based on a survey of institutions, using a discount rate and volatility analysis.

    Initially, Wood’s forecast for Bitcoin was estimated at $600,000 in the next six years. However, considering the effect of the Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), she now believes the coin has the potential to hit $1.5 million.

    Bitcoin
    BTC trading at $66,567 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com

    Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

    Disclaimer: The article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

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    Godspower Owie

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  • Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest predicts waning EV sales will balloon, hitting 74 million cars annually by the end of the decade

    Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest predicts waning EV sales will balloon, hitting 74 million cars annually by the end of the decade

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    Forget about anything you may have read about the waning hype around electric vehicles. According to ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood, EVs are only just starting to take off.

    In her firm’s annual “Big Ideas” report published on Wednesday, the asset manager predicts the new battery-powered cars sold last year could soar by a third every year to reach 74 million in 2030 — all of which will at least be technically capable of driving autonomously. By comparison only about 10 million EVs were delivered to customers last year. 

    “As battery costs continue to decline, EV prices should fall, potentially driving exponential growth in unit sales,” the report argues.

    At an average selling price of $20,000 each, that represents a grand total of more than $1.4 trillion in annual revenue potential for EV carmakers, who she anticipates will pocket a tenth of that as profit before interest and tax. 

    The flip side is this will all but wipe out demand for internal combustion engine cars as total global new vehicle sales only hit 100 million in 2030, barely more than what was sold in the peak year of 2017. This may cause a “death spiral for incumbent auto manufacturers”, ARK Invest warns.

    EV makers struggling to reach Tesla’s scale

    Wood is known for her love of moonshot technologies tipped to render existing ones obsolete in five to 10 years, and to better predict trends deliberately employs research analysts from specialist fields rather than from conventional Wall Street backgrounds. 

    She first earned a reputation as a star investor for her prescient bullish bets on Tesla, which Wood argues should hit $2,000 in 2027, largely because Musk will have by then solved autonomous driving, what he calls Tesla’s “ChatGPT moment”. 

    Nonetheless her firm acknowledged that many EV manufacturers are struggling to scale profitably. So far only Tesla and BYD have proven they can ramp operations fast enough to achieve the kind of cost advantages their competitors can only dream of. 

    “Many are pulling back from the market […] because the already-profitable market leaders are cutting prices aggressively,” ARK Invest wrote, citing General Motors, Volkswagen and Ford delaying some of their EV capacity expansion plans.

    Volvo Cars abandons Polestar in its hour of need

    One competitor that has struggled to scale is Sweden’s Polestar. The company should be ideally placed to benefit from the EV revolution in China and Europe, as it combines clean Scandinavian design and a premium brand positioning with a low-cost manufacturing base outsourced to partners to minimize cash burn. 

    In practice however, Polestar has been unable to scale fast enough to finance itself internally, growing vehicle sales by just 6% in 2023. 

    Now, large Polestar shareholder Volvo Cars said on Thursday it will cease any and all further funding and revealed plans to reduce its 48% stake in the company, in part through a “distribution” of stock to its own investors including its Chinese parent company, Geely.

    “Our focus is on developing Volvo Cars and concentrating our resources on our own ambitious journey,” the Swedish premium carmaker said.

    Seeking to reassure his investors all was not lost, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath praised what he called the “continued cooperation with Volvo Cars” in other areas of the business, such as manufacturing. He also welcomed Geely’s interest to potentially step into the breach, before claiming talks to plug a $1.3 billion financing gap were “well advanced”.

    So given the recent gloomy news in the EV industry, why is Wood’s ARK Invest so bullish? The asset manager bases its call on a conviction that the cost for batteries will tumble 28% every time their production output (measured not in units but kilowatt hours) doubles. 

    Come 2040, ARK Invest anticipates applications for battery technology will experience their own “Cambrian explosion”—a reference to the most intense burst of rapid-fire evolution Earth has ever seen. This should enable flying taxis to transform urban landscapes by that point.

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    Christiaan Hetzner

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  • Here's the Only Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock That Warren Buffett and Cathie Wood Both Own As 2024 Begins

    Here's the Only Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock That Warren Buffett and Cathie Wood Both Own As 2024 Begins

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    Warren Buffett and Cathie Wood are like two peas in a pod. At least, that’s the case if the pod spanned millions of miles and the two famous investors were on polar ends of it.

    The reality is that Buffett and Wood don’t see eye-to-eye on many stocks. However, there’s one notable exception. Here’s the only artificial intelligence (AI) stock that both Buffett and Wood own as 2024 begins.

    Small positions for both famous investors

    Wood’s Ark Invest portfolio is chock-full of AI stocks. That’s not surprising, considering that Wood has been a vocal proponent of AI for years. It’s a different story with Buffett. The legendary investor is well-known for focusing only on stocks that are in his circle of competence. AI definitely doesn’t fit the bill.

    But there is one — and only one — AI stock that both investors own. Admittedly, though, their stakes in this stock are fairly small.

    Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) makes up 0.4% of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. While Berkshire initiated a position in Amazon in 2019, Buffett acknowledged at the time that the decision was made by one of the conglomerate’s two investment managers. Still, he likes the company and the stock, telling CNBC, “Yeah, I’ve been a fan, and I’ve been an idiot for not buying.”

    Wood’s position in Amazon is even smaller. And the stock isn’t in any of her exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) that focus heavily on AI. Instead, Amazon is included in the Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF. The company’s Project Kuiper satellite broadband network apparently caught Wood’s attention.

    Amazon’s AI story

    Amazon isn’t a johnny-come-lately to the world of AI. The company has developed and used AI for more than two decades.

    AI permeates the algorithms used on Amazon’s e-commerce platform. Every time a user sees a recommendation for a product to buy, it’s an example of the company’s AI at work. The e-commerce giant recently upped its game on this front, launching a generative AI tool to answer shoppers’ questions about products.

    Amazon introduced its Alexa virtual assistant way back in 2014. Alexa is embedded in the company’s Echo, Firestick, and Kindle Fire devices.

    The bigger AI opportunity for Amazon, though, is with its cloud services platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS). CEO Andy Jassy underscored why AWS could be such a big winner in AI in his comments during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. He stated, “[C]ustomers want to bring the [AI] models to their data, not the other way around. And much of the data resides in AWS as the clear market segment leader in cloud infrastructure.”

    Is Amazon a smart pick for less well-known investors?

    Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its position a little in Amazon in the third quarter of 2023. Wood’s Ark Invest released a report several months ago that downplayed mega-cap AI stocks such as Amazon in favor of smaller up-and-comers. However, I think that there are several reasons to buy Amazon stock right now.

    The company’s bottom line continues to improve significantly. Amazon’s management has focused intently on boosting profits by streamlining operations across the board. Those efforts are bearing fruit, as evidenced by earnings more than tripling year over year in 2023 Q3.

    Jassy has said in the past that roughly 90% to 95% of global IT spending is still on-premises with the rest in the cloud. He believes those numbers will flip over the next 10 to 15 years. I suspect he’s right. If so, AWS should have massive growth prospects ahead.

    Last, but not least, Amazon hasn’t stopped looking for ways to expand into new markets. Just last year, the company launched a supply chain management service, introduced a primary care service for Prime members, and announced that it will sell cars online. I expect more expansions in the future.

    My view is that Buffett and Wood would be wise to add to their stakes in Amazon. And I think the AI stock is a smart pick for less well-known investors, too.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now?

    Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this:

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    John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

    Here’s the Only Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock That Warren Buffett and Cathie Wood Both Own As 2024 Begins was originally published by The Motley Fool

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  • ARK Investment shifts $16m from ProShares to own Bitcoin ETF

    ARK Investment shifts $16m from ProShares to own Bitcoin ETF

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    ARK Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, divested from the ProShares Bitcoin ETF, reallocating approximately $16 million towards its own Bitcoin ETF. 

    This move involved the sale of ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) shares, a pioneering ETF in the Bitcoin futures market in the U.S., and the acquisition of 365,427 shares of ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB). 

    This adjustment resulted in ARKB accounting for 1% of the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). The value of ARKB shares declined to $43.51 on Tuesday, a significant drop from the initial listing price of $49 on Jan. 11.

    Previously, ARK Investment Management had shifted its investments from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to BITO in December in anticipation of the U.S. approving direct Bitcoin ETFs.

    Cathie Wood had expressed confidence in investing in an already approved fund over one pending approval. This latest portfolio reshuffling aligns with ARK’s ongoing strategy to optimize its position in the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency investments.

    ARK’s 21Shares Bitcoin ETF currently offers one of the lowest fees at 0.21%. Leading crypto exchange Coinbase acts as the custodian of ARK’s ETF. 


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  • Ark's Cathie Wood condemns SEC Chair, says Gensler 'denigrated' crypto

    Ark's Cathie Wood condemns SEC Chair, says Gensler 'denigrated' crypto

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    Ark Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood says Gary Gensler ‘denigrated the whole crypto space’ with his latest statement.

    Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on Jan. 11, Ark Investment Management founder and CEO Cathie Wood criticized the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying the latest statement about cryptocurrencies “denigrated” the whole industry.

    “He just denigrated the whole crypto space. I couldn’t believe it. This is par for the course in disruptive innovation.”

    Cathie Wood

    Wood’s comments were prompted by Gensler’s continued skepticism towards cryptocurrencies, even after granting approval for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Gensler, who has been consistently critical of cryptocurrencies since taking charge at the helm of the U.S. financial regulator, reiterated in his latest statement that the SEC “did not approve or endorse Bitcoin.”

    “While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot Bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse Bitcoin. Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”

    Gary Gensler

    Despite Gensler’s negative stance, Cathie Wood believes that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs marks a significant development for the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. She emphasizes that institutions will now need to navigate and adapt to the new regulatory framework with increased diligence.

    As previously reported by crypto.news, the SEC gave the green light to multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10, including the one jointly filed by Ark and 21Shares. The approval paves the way for ETFs to commence trading on the CBOE from 9 am on Jan. 11, coinciding with the opening of the U.S. stock market.


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    Denis Omelchenko

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  • Cathie Wood: spot Bitcoin ETF seen as ultimate endorsement for institutional investors

    Cathie Wood: spot Bitcoin ETF seen as ultimate endorsement for institutional investors

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    Cathie Wood believes the SEC’s decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs may significantly impact institutional crypto adoption.

    Wood views this imminent approval as a pivotal moment, suggesting that such approval could be the “final seal of approval” for institutions considering crypto investments. In collaboration with 21Shares, ARK Invest awaits a decision on their ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) proposal, with a ruling expected by Jan. 10.

    The SEC’s previous approval of Bitcoin futures ETFs in October 2021 was seen as a cautious yet progressive step despite concerns about counterparty risks compared to spot products backed by Bitcoin in cold storage. Most Bitcoin ETF proposals name Coinbase as the custodian, which adds a layer of security and legitimacy.

    A court victory in July by Grayscale Investments against the SEC further underscores the tension and evolving landscape. The court criticized the SEC’s decision to deny Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF conversion while allowing futures-based funds, labeling it “arbitrary and capricious.”

    Wood’s optimistic forecast for Bitcoin’s value (BTC), predicting it could exceed $1 million in the long term, is matched by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts’ high confidence in approving a spot Bitcoin ETF by Jan. 10. This optimism is a departure from the SEC’s historical reluctance to support spot Bitcoin ETFs.

    21Shares President Ophelia Snyder noted recent pattern breaks in the approval process, indicating a potential shift in the SEC’s stance. Recent updates in Bitcoin ETF filings, such as BlackRock’s inclusion of seed capital language and technical amendments addressing concerns like Bitcoin mining’s electricity usage, suggest an active dialogue with the SEC.

    The entrance of major firms like BlackRock into the Bitcoin ETF space has reinvigorated efforts by other financial giants like Fidelity and Invesco. Wood anticipates that multiple firms, including ARK Invest, could receive approval simultaneously, depending on their filing specifics.


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  • Cathie Wood Predicts Deflation to Take Hold in US Next Year

    Cathie Wood Predicts Deflation to Take Hold in US Next Year

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    (Bloomberg) — Cathie Wood said that deflation is already underway in the US across industries and will force the Federal Reserve to kick off a big interest-rate cutting cycle.

    Most Read from Bloomberg

    “The Federal Reserve has overdone it, we’re going to see a lot more deflation going forward,” the head of ARK Investment Management told Bloomberg TV Tuesday. “If we’re right, and they’ve gone way too far, they’ll have to cut fairly significantly.”

    She added that the CPI inflation rate could turn negative “at some point next year.” US inflation broadly slowed in October, which markets cheered as a strong indication that the Fed is done raising interest rates. The aforementioned data was released Tuesday.

    Wood’s prediction clashes with the consensus on Wall Street. Economists expect annual inflation to tick down to 2.7% next year from 3.2% in October, according to a Bloomberg survey.

    Read More: US Inflation Broadly Slows, Erasing Bets on More Fed Rate Hikes

    Wood said that a deflationary trend that began in commodities is now extending out to airline and auto prices. She has long expected an era of falling prices, backed by new technologies including artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, robotics, genomic sequencing and blockchain. She has also criticized the Fed previously, saying its aggressive hikes could increase the risks of a deflationary bust.

    ARK’s Flagship Fund

    After a blockbuster year in 2020, Wood’s flagship $6.9 billion ARK Innovation ETF (ticker ARKK) tumbled roughly 23% in 2021 and 67% in 2022. It’s up 33% so far this year.

    “We’ve paid our dues,” Wood said. “We had a great year through July, then a little bit of a setback, as inflation fears picked up again. But I think today’s report is very important in terms of — look through there and see the price declines. You’ll see a number of them.”

    Read more: Cathie Wood Sees Revival of Thematic Investing When Rates Fall

    Despite ARKK’s rally this year, the fund is still trailing the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100’s roughly 44% gain, which has been propelled by companies absent from Wood’s ETF, including Nvidia Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.

    –With assistance from Romaine Bostick.

    (Updates headline, adds details in paragraph four.)

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    ©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Long-Term Bitcoin Metrics Reversing – ‘Explosive Phase’ Seen

    Long-Term Bitcoin Metrics Reversing – ‘Explosive Phase’ Seen

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    Bitcoin (BTC) is currently experiencing a notable surge in its value, effectively propelling the entire cryptocurrency market upwards. The recent upswing has drawn the attention of various experts in the field, one of whom is the pseudonymous crypto strategist known as TechDev. 

    In a recent post on the popular social media platform X, TechDev emphasized that Bitcoin, often referred to as the king of cryptocurrencies, is poised to enter an “explosive” phase, citing the reversal of the king crypto’s long-term metrics as evidence. 

    According to TechDev, a specific signal occurs approximately every 3 to 3.5 years, indicating an impending period of several months during which the market capitalization of Bitcoin is expected to grow significantly.

    Analyzing TechDev’s Bitcoin Insights

    Analyzing the intricate dynamics at play, TechDev’s chart highlights an intriguing correlation between China’s 10-year yield on its bond and the US dollar index, suggesting that as China’s bond yield decreases in relation to the US Dollar Index, Bitcoin’s price is predicted to rise. 

    Simplifying this, it implies that as the yield on China’s long-term bonds decreases in comparison to the strength of the US dollar, there is an increased likelihood of Bitcoin’s value escalating, possibly due to shifting investor sentiment and a growing appetite for alternative assets.

    Furthermore, TechDev underlines Bitcoin’s historical breakouts against the NASDAQ over the years, emphasizing the significance of these breakthrough moments.

    These instances serve as a strong indication for investors, signaling the importance of not overlooking Bitcoin’s potential to break out significantly against the renowned stock exchange. 

    Bitcoin currently trading at $34,610 on the daily chart: TradingView.com

    Cathie Wood’s Vote Of Confidence

    In addition to the optimistic sentiments surrounding Bitcoin, prominent financial figure Cathie Wood, the head of Ark Investment, has expressed unwavering confidence in Bitcoin as a hedge against the potential risks of deflation. 

    In a recent interview on Bloomberg’s Marin Talks Money podcast, Wood responded to a question regarding her preferred asset class to hold for a decade. Without hesitation, she unequivocally favored Bitcoin over gold or cash, highlighting its unique characteristics that make it an effective safeguard against both inflation and deflation.

    Wood emphasized Bitcoin’s inherent resilience against counterparty risk, along with its decentralized nature, which tends to discourage excessive institutional interference. Describing Bitcoin as the “digital gold” of the contemporary financial realm, Wood’s endorsement adds further credibility to Bitcoin’s position as a resilient and promising investment option.

    The current price of Bitcoin according to CoinGecko stands at $34,557, with a slight 24-hour dip of 1.8% countered by a modest seven-day gain of 1.3%. These fluctuations further underscore the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency market and the ongoing developments that continue to shape the trajectory of Bitcoin’s value. 

    Amidst these fluctuations, the overarching sentiment remains bullish, emphasizing the growing recognition of Bitcoin’s significance in the global financial landscape. 

    (This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).

    Featured image from Freepik

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    Christian Encila

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  • ARK Invest offloads GBTC shares

    ARK Invest offloads GBTC shares

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    ARK Invest, investor Cathie Wood’s firm, sold 66,342 units of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) for $1.66 million, at a closing price of $25.07 on Oct. 28, 2023.

    The price of Bitcoin (BTC) currently sits at $34,434.

    ARK Invest capitalizes on market recovery

    Recent reports indicate that Wood, who founded ARK Invest in 2014, has been reshaping her portfolio. Wood divested Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares while acquiring shares in a cryptocurrency-related stock. 

    On Oct. 28, the fund sold 66,342 units of GBTC, amounting to $1.66 million based on the closing price of $25.07. 

    This sale aligns with the broader pattern of ARK Invest divesting GBTC shares, involving the sale of approximately $2.5 million in GBTC shares on Oct. 24.

    Ark Invest also sold GBTC shares in three sessions that week. On Oct. 24, around $2.5 million worth of GBTC shares were sold, equivalent to approximately 2% of ARK’s holdings in the trust. The following day, Oct. 25, ARK Invest sold about $1.8 million of GBTC shares for the second consecutive day. These GBTC sales might be connected to the firm’s filing for a Bitcoin-based ETF.

    Additionally, on Oct. 28, ARK Invest invested $12.4 million in a crypto-linked stock, the specific name of which was not disclosed. Besides this, ARK Invest has been actively purchasing shares in other companies. On Oct. 24, the fund acquired $2.4 million worth of shares in the popular trading platform Robinhood (HOOD).

    Crypto ETF’s breaking barriers 

    ARK Invest’s recent actions could be influenced by Bitcoin’s latest rally. The cryptocurrency’s value recently soared, reaching over $35,000 on Oct. 28.

    The spike in Bitcoin’s price is also linked to a recent court ruling in the Grayscale and SEC legal battle and the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, which appears imminent, according to experts. 

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruling stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was mistaken in denying Grayscale, a major crypto investment firm, the opportunity to launch the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This decision has broader implications, potentially affecting other companies like BlackRock and Fidelity, who are also interested in creating Bitcoin ETFs.

    The ruling, which faced multiple delays, stemmed from the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s application last summer. However, the denial was based on Grayscale’s inability to address concerns related to potential market manipulation and investor protections. Importantly, the SEC does not intend to challenge the recent court ruling, acknowledging its error in rejecting Grayscale Investments’ application for a spot Bitcoin ETF.

    This legal outcome has narrowed the discount on Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares, underscoring the increased importance of the underlying asset’s price. Additionally, the ruling has opened the door for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, indicating a positive shift in the regulatory landscape.

    ARK Invest, in addition to divesting shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, has been acquiring shares in Robinhood. Notably, Wood has previously expressed confidence in Grayscale Investments, recognizing its significance within Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group.


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    Ogwu Osaemezu Emmanuel

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  • The ‘No. 1 question’ Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood gets on her website

    The ‘No. 1 question’ Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood gets on her website

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    The most popular question on Ark Invest’s website has nothing to do with investing in the U.S., according to the firm’s CEO and Chief Investment Officer Cathie Wood.

    “The No. 1 question on our website as we track these questions is: Why can’t we buy your strategies in Europe?” the tech investor told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.

    Wood’s firm expanded its exposure to Europe last month by acquiring the Rize ETF Limited from AssetCo.

    “We found this little gem of a company inside of AssetCo, which philosophically and from a DNA point-of-view, is very much like Ark,” Wood said. “They know what’s in their portfolios. They’re very focused on the future, thematically oriented. They do have a sustainable orientation, which is absolutely essential in Europe.”

    She speculates 25% of total demand for Ark’s research strategies comes from Europe.

    “We’re terribly impressed with the quality of their [Rise ETF] own research and due diligence,” Wood said. “We saw it during the deal, and I think we’re going to hit the ground running if the regulators approve our strategies there. And, of course, we’d like to distribute their strategies throughout the world including the US.”

    Wood’s firm has around $25 billion in assets under management, according to the firm. As of Sept. 30, FactSet reports Ark’s top five holdings are Tesla, Coinbase, UiPath, Roku and Zoom Video.

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  • Nvidia is ‘priced ahead of the curve,’ says Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood

    Nvidia is ‘priced ahead of the curve,’ says Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood

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    Tech investor Cathie Wood says she’s hesitating to embrace A.I. darling Nvidia because the company’s shares are now too expensive.

    The chipmaker “is priced ahead of the curve,” the ARK Invest CEO wrote on Twitter on Monday, suggesting the stock is too overvalued for it to be a good investment.

    Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF cut its shares in Nvidia in mid-January. The chipmaker’s shares are up 172% for the year thus far.

    Nvidia experienced the third-largest single-day jump in market value on Thursday after the company predicted $11 billion in sales for the current quarter, far higher than analyst expectations. The chipmaker now has a market capitalization of $960 billion, behind just four other U.S. companies. 

    Nvidia’s rosy guidance also lifted the entire sector, with A.I.-affiliated stocks gaining $300 billion in value on Thursday. 

    The rally in A.I.-affiliated tech companies is leading some observers to worry about a bubble. Economist David Rosenberg said that the boom looked “very weird” in a Thursday interview on CNBC, and said there was “no question we have a price bubble.”

    Yet, unlike in previous bubbles when “we were getting tremendous valuations from companies that had no earnings,” Nvidia is a real, good company,” said Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel in a Monday CNBC interview. The boom in tech stocks “is not a bubble yet,” he said. 

    Nvidia shares are up by over 3% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, breaching $400 a share.

    Boom and bust

    Wood may also be concerned about the boom-and-bust nature of the chip sector. On Friday, the tech investor said she was worried about “shortages” in an interview with Bloomberg. “I begin to think about the cyclicality of a group,” she said.

    Chip companies are suffering from a slump, as the sector corrects from the chip shortages in 2020 and 2021. Consumers are buying fewer PCs, smartphones and other consumer electronics, suppressing demand for the chips that power them. Manufacturers and retailers are also selling off excess inventory stockpiled during the chip shortage. 

    Nvidia, too, is still feeling the effects of the chip slump, reporting a 38% year-on-year decline in quarterly revenue from its gaming division. 

    Yet the company clearly now sees A.I. as its future, with CEO Jensen Huang announcing a swathe of new A.I. services, products and partnerships on Monday, including a new supercomputer platform to help large tech companies create the next viral A.I. sensation, like ChatGPT.

    Tesla

    On Monday, Wood called herself an early believer in Nvidia. “In 2014, most investors considered Nvidia, priced at ~$5, simply a PC gaming chip stock. Ark Invest’s first principles research pointed to Nvidia as the premier equity play on A.I.,” she tweeted

    But Wood said that investors are wrong to think that Nvidia is “the only A.I. play.” Electric carmaker Tesla “is the most obvious beneficiary of the recent breakthrough in A.I.”, she tweeted on Monday, due to its investments in automated driving. 

    Wood called Tesla “the biggest A.I. play out there” in a conversation with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell at the MPW Next Gen Summit in May. Tesla could be in the “pole position” to grab “the lion’s share” of the autonomous taxi market, at least in the U.S., the investor predicted, estimating that robotaxi platforms could be worth $8-10 trillion globally. 

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes the company will roll out full self-driving this year, and will help to drive its profits. Yet the company had to pause installations of its beta “Full Self-Driving” software earlier this year, after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration deemed it a “crash risk” and asked for a safety recall. 

    Customers using Tesla’s existing automated driving services have reported thousands of instances of braking problems and abrupt acceleration, according to a set of complaints, covering a period between 2015 and March 2022, leaked to German outlet Handelsblatt before the weekend. 

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    Nicholas Gordon

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  • Cathie Wood expects a U.S. recession in 2023 that could help her fund’s performance

    Cathie Wood expects a U.S. recession in 2023 that could help her fund’s performance

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  • Ark’s Cathie Wood issues open letter to the Fed, saying it is risking an economic ‘bust’

    Ark’s Cathie Wood issues open letter to the Fed, saying it is risking an economic ‘bust’

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    Cathie Wood, Founder, CEO, and CIO of ARK Invest, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, May 2, 2022.

    David Swanson | Reuters

    The Federal Reserve likely is making a mistake in its hard-line stance against inflation Ark Investment Management’s Cathie Wood said Monday in an open letter to the central bank.

    Instead of looking at employment and price indexes from previous months, Wood said the Fed should be taking lessons from commodity prices that indicate the biggest economic risk going forward is deflation, not inflation.

    “The Fed seems focused on two variables that, in our view, are lagging indicators –– downstream inflation and employment ––both of which have been sending conflicting signals and should be calling into question the Fed’s unanimous call for higher interest rates,” Wood said in the letter posted on the firm’s website.

    Specifically, the consumer price and personal consumption expenditures price indexes both showed inflation running high. Headline CPI rose 0.1% in August and was up 8.3% year over year, while headline PCE accelerated 0.3% and 6.2% respectively. Both readings were even higher excluding food and energy, which saw large price drops over the summer.

    On employment, payroll growth has decelerated but remains strong, with job gains totaling 263,000 in September as the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.

    But Wood, whose firm manages some $14.4 billion in client money across a family of active ETFs, said falling prices for items such as lumber, copper and housing are telling a different story.

    Worries over a ‘deflationary bust’

    The Fed has approved three consecutive interest rate increases of 0.75 percentage point, mostly by unanimous vote, and is expected to OK a fourth when it meets again Nov. 1-2.

    “Unanimous? Really?” Wood wrote. “Could it be that the unprecedented 13-fold increase in interest rates during the last six months––likely 16-fold come November 2––has shocked not just the US but the world and raised the risks of a deflationary bust?”

    Inflation is bad for the economy because it raises the cost of living and depresses consumer spending; deflation is a converse risk that reflects tumbling demand and is associated with steep economic downturns.

    To be sure, the Fed is hardly alone in raising rates.

    Nearly 40 central banks around the world approved increases during September, and the markets have largely expected all the Fed’s moves.

    However, criticism has emerged recently that the Fed could be going too far and is at risk of pulling the economy into an unnecessary recession.

    “Without question, food and energy prices are important, but we do not believe that the Fed should be fighting and exacerbating the global pain associated with a supply shock to agriculture and energy commodities caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Wood wrote.

    The Fed is expected to follow the November hike with a 0.5 percentage point rise in December, then a 0.25 percentage point move early in 2023.

    One area of the market known as overnight indexed swaps is pricing in two rate cuts by the end of 2023, according to Morgan Stanley.

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  • Ark’s Cathie Wood Says Passive Investing Sparked The ‘Most Massive Misallocation Of Capital In The History Of Mankind’

    Ark’s Cathie Wood Says Passive Investing Sparked The ‘Most Massive Misallocation Of Capital In The History Of Mankind’

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    Topline

    Speaking at the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday, famed stock picker Cathie Wood of Ark Invest sharply criticized passive investing and touted disruptive innovation stocks, even as her flagship fund continues to post lackluster returns as shares of top holdings like Tesla and Zoom continue to struggle.

    Key Facts

    The founder and CEO of Ark Invest on Monday criticized the wider shift toward passive investing as “backwards looking,” arguing that “fear” has pushed investors back to “mimicking indexes, which is kind of mindless.”

    “I believe this is the most massive misallocation of capital in the history of mankind,” Wood told Forbes, arguing that her firm’s thesis of investing in disruptive technology is now more important than ever, given today’s uncertainty in markets.

    The famed stock picker emphasized that she still sees “explosive growth opportunities” ahead, but increasingly risk-averse investors have “defaulted to benchmarks” amid concerns over inflation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate hikes.

    Wood’s success soared in 2020 when her flagship Ark Innovation fund surged nearly 150%, but performance has since declined, with the fund falling 24% last year and another 37% so far in 2022.

    The Ark Invest CEO remains undeterred by her skeptics: “Betting against innovation long term is a losing proposition,” she said, adding that the “visceral response [from critics] tells me we’re doing something right.”

    While innovation was first “turbocharged” by the problems that arose during the coronavirus crisis in 2020, Wood now sees parallels to today’s market: “I feel we’re back there again, and now with the Russia-Ukraine issues, we have many more problems.”

    Crucial Quote:

    “Innovation solves problems. We now have a lot more problems,” Wood said.

    What To Watch For:

    With energy prices skyrocketing in recent weeks amid the conflict between major exporters Russia and Ukraine, that has created a “huge supply shock,” which is “really going to hurt consumer purchasing power,” Wood told Forbes. “I think the risks of recession have increased dramatically.”

    Surprising Fact:

    Though experts widely agree that rising oil prices could lead to higher inflation in the United States, a by-product of surging energy prices is that they will “only accelerate the push toward electric vehicles and autonomous transportation,” according to Wood. That’s good news for her biggest holding, electric vehicle maker Tesla—with the Ark Innovation fund holding a stake worth more than $1 billion. Wood’s flagship fund also has large positions in virtual healthcare company Teladoc (worth just over $750 million), video streaming platform Roku (worth over $700 million), videoconferencing service Zoom (worth around $650 million) and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (worth $600 million).

    Further Reading:

    Dow Falls 600 Points, Oil Briefly Hits $130 Per Barrel, With No End In Sight For Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine (Forbes)

    ‘Give Us Five Years’: Cathie Wood Defends Struggling Tech Stocks As Flagship Fund Craters (Forbes)

    Cathie Wood Doubles Down On Growth Stocks After Fund Loses A Fifth Of Its Value In 2021 (Forbes)

    Economic Fallout From Russia’s Invasion Will Be ‘Modest’—But Inflation Will Surge Higher, This Expert Predicts (Forbes)

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    Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes Staff

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