Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
On Friday, Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest did a flurry of trades involving some of its key portfolio stocks, notably adding a big chunk of shares of AI-levered Palantir Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:PLTR).
AI Pickings: Ark, through its ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (CBOE: ARKQ), bought 100,344 shares of Palantir, valued at $2.26 billion. This was in addition to the 45,229 shares, worth $981,923, it acquired on Thursday.
Palantir is scheduled to report its first-quarter results on May 5. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings per share of 8 cents per share on revenue of $625.33 million, according to Benzinga Pro data. This represents an increase from fourth-quarter numbers of 5 cents per share and $525.19 million, respectively.
Ark also accumulated Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares in two sessions following the social media giant’s quarterly earnings announcement.
The Meta stock ended 10.56% lower on Thursday, reacting to its soft second-quarter revenue guidance and commentary regarding intensive investment in AI. Ark, via its Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKF) added 27,961 Meta shares on Thursday worth $12.34 million.
Ark went on a Meta buying spree yet again on Friday despite the stock recovering and closing 0.43% higher. The firm bought 13,494 Meta shares valued at $5.98 million.
Bargain Hunting In Roku: Streaming equipment maker Roku, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ROKU) shares fell 10.28% on Friday despite its quarterly beat. Investors apparently did not take kindly to the management hinting at difficult comparisons in the coming quarters.
Undeterred by the sell-off, Ark added a whopping 715,644 Roku shares, valued at $40.33 million, on Friday.
An EV Buy: Ark, which supported Tesla amid its stock slump prior to its earnings, shifted allegiance to another electric-vehicle maker this week.
Through ARKQ, Ark bought 2,800 shares of BYD Co. Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY) (OTC:BYDDF) worth $146,132 on Thursday. It followed up with the purchase of another 28,434 shares, valued at $1.54 million, on Friday.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire has a stake in BYD, which wrested the global battery EV crown from Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023 but has since ceded it back to the U.S. EV giant. BYD now accounts for about 1% of ARKQ’s portfolio by weighting.
Ark’s flagship exchange-traded fund, the ARKK, closed Friday’s session up 1.05% at $44.07, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Read Next: Elon Musk Echoes Cathie Wood, Wants Tesla To Be Seen As An AI Or Robotics Company: ‘If You Value Tesla As Just An Auto Company…Wrong Framework’
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