Cathie Wood-led Ark Investment Management on Monday sharply raised its exposure in the Chinese automaker BYD Co (OTC: BYDDY) but stayed away from buying shares in her favorite electric vehicle stock Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and peer Xpeng Inc (NYSE: NYSE:XPEV) on the dip.
The popular stock-picking firm bought 53,228 shares — estimated to be worth $2.3 million based on Monday’s closing price— in the Shenzhen, China headquartered automaker that is quickly switching to making new energy vehicles.
OTC stock of BYD, backed by Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Chairman Buffett, closed 8.75% lower at $43.3 a share on Monday. The stock is down 38% year-to-date.
See Also: Warren Buffett-Backed Chinese Automaker Sold More Than Double EVs Than Nio, Xpeng, Li Combined In February
Tesla and Xpeng shares closed 3.6% lower and 13.8% lower, respectively, on Monday. This was Ark Invest’s first buy in BYD so far this year.
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based Ark Invest held 266,986 shares — worth $12.7 million — in BYD via the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS: ARKQ) ahead of Monday's trade. No other ARK ETF owns shares in BYD.
The latest buy represents a 16.6% boost in Ark Invest’s stake in BYD.
See Also: Cathie Wood's Ark Sits Out Thursday's Dip In Favorite Stocks
Buffett owned about an 8% stake in the automaker that competes with Tesla and homegrown Chinese electric vehicle startups such as Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng, and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ: LI).
In February, BYD sold more than double electric vehicles than the combined delivery volumes of Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto.
Photo: Courtesy of BYD
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