Investor Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought about 1.3 million shares of the controversial stock trading platform Robinhood on its first day of public trading.
According to ARK Investment Management’s daily trade summary, its actively managed ETF, ARKK, bought 1,297,615 shares of Robinhood on the day of its Nasdaq debut. The investment made up about 0.2% of the fund’s weight.
On a wild day of trading, Robinhood saw its shares drop more than 8% to close at $34.82, below its IPO price of $38. In an unusual move that was emblematic of the company’s mission to bring no-fee trading to the masses, Robinhood reserved about one-third of its shares for Robinhood customers.
ARK’s investment at Robinhood’s Thursday closing price was worth about $45.2 million.
Despite a rocky start to the year in which her firm was affected by sell-offs in high tech growth stocks, Wood has proven to be one of the most successful and visionary traders of the last few years. Her flagship ETF, ARK Innovation, rose 150% in 2020 and brought her a devoted following.
Robinhood’s Thursday IPO was expected to be one of the hottest of the year but has thus far not met expectations.
Several other companies, including Facebook, have also had less than stellar first-day performances, and Robinhood has seen a tremendous growth in users since 2020. The company was trading at $34.86 as of publication, slightly above Thursday’s close.
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