Tesla, Inc. TSLA It retreated more than 6% intraday on Friday before recouping some of those losses and yet settled down more than 3% for the day. The catalyst for the decline was a Reuters report that the EV giant may pull the plug on its sub-$30,000 electric vehicle, although CEO Elon Musk took to social media to refute the report.
In the midst of the stock crash, Cathie Wood’s Investment Ark accumulated another tranche of Tesla shares.
What happened: Ark, through two of its actively managed exchange-traded funds, purchased 133,975 Tesla shares worth $22.09 million (based on the closing price of $164.90). The details of the purchases are as follows:
- Innovation Ark ETF ARKK: 109,206 shares
- Ark Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW: 24,769 shares
Wood is a firm believer in Tesla and Musk, and his company has a $2,000 price target for the stock through 2027. Much of the celebrity stock picker’s optimism about Tesla is based on the plan’s enormous potential robotaxi service offering.
Because it is important: Friday’s sales reflect investor concerns about further volume weakness in the absence of a low-end model, especially as economic conditions remain challenging. Future Fund Gary Blackwho has been very vocal about the need for a low-end electric vehicle, said that shelving the low-end platform and doubling down on self-driving (FSD) software would be “very risky and institutions would dump the stock because there will be little growth and high price risk until the robotaxi materializes – or not.”
But that of Deepwater Asset Management Gene Munster he said this was the right move for Tesla. “Being the first to realize full autonomy at scale is a huge first-mover advantage. Even though the event will take place in August, I assume we will see Robotaxis on the road in 2027,” he said.
Ark added more Tesla shares to its portfolio this week. Prior to Monday’s delivery update, the company bought $14.75 million in shares and added $39.16 million in shares following the update. He paused purchases of Tesla over the next two sessions before adding more shares on Friday.
With this Ark has strengthened its holdings in Tesla by $76 million in value terms this week alone.
Tesla is the second largest holding in Ark, the ARRK ETF, with a portfolio weighting of about 9.5%.
Ark Clearances: On Friday, Ark continued to sell two of its cryptocurrency-related portfolio stocks, viz Coinbase Global, Inc. CURRENCY AND Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD. It sold 62,615 Coinbase shares, worth $15.08 million, and 925,585 Robinhood shares worth $17.03 million.
ARKK closed Friday’s session down 0.32% at $47.12, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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