Cathie Woods misses $PTON move. Again.

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, demonstrated a shifting investment strategy regarding Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) as market conditions evolved during 2020-2024.

In late 2020, Wood began accumulating Peloton shares during the pandemic-driven home fitness boom, when the stock was performing strongly and reached peaks around $170 in December 2020. ARK continued building its position through early 2021 across multiple ETFs, including ARKW and ARKK.

During the May 2021 treadmill recall crisis, when Peloton faced significant safety concerns including one child death, Wood appeared to view the stock price decline as a buying opportunity, with ARK purchasing an additional 141,000 shares during the recall period.

However, by October 2021, ARK Invest adjusted its position, selling approximately 450,000 shares of Peloton. This shift occurred after Peloton cut its full-year guidance and reported slower growth, with the stock declining to the $80-90 range. The reduction in position continued into 2022.

By mid-2022, ARK Invest had largely exited its position in Peloton through a series of sales, indicating a changed perspective on the company's growth prospects.

By 2024, Cathie Wood's inconsistent approach to Peloton once again became evident. On October 29, 2024, ARK Invest sold over 480,000 shares of Peloton just days before the company reported strong first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings and announced the appointment of a new CEO.

Following these positive developments, Peloton's stock surged nearly 30%, and continued to rise on Monday (NASDAQ:MNDY), gaining another 4% intraday after Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Securities issued a double upgrade on the back of the CEO change and first-quarter results.

This further highlighted another instance of poorly timed divestment by ARK Invest.

Wood's decision to sell before the earnings report demonstrated a lack of confidence that contradicted the market's reaction, which saw a significant boost in Peloton's valuation after the news.

Bank of America upgraded Peloton's rating from 'Underperform' to 'Buy' and increased the price target from $3.75 to $9, citing expectations of $100 million in efficiency savings under the new leadership of incoming CEO Peter Stern (AS:PBHP), formerly of Ford and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). This optimistic outlook contributed to Peloton shares rising around 14% since the company reported its results.

Wood's evolving position on Peloton is representative of her volatile approach to entries and exits at key moments, often on the wrong side. The decisions seem...almost more driven by greed and fear than planned.