Cathie Wood buys $20.7 million of surging tech stock originally appeared on TheStreet.
Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, is doubling down on tech momentum. She often targets companies she believes have “disruptive” impacts on the future, and she’s been especially vocal about artificial intelligence being a key force in markets today.
This week, she poured more money into a tech stock that’s been surging, partly driven by its growing use of AI tools to boost efficiency and growth.
Wood’s funds have experienced a volatile ride this year, swinging from sharp losses to strong gains.
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In January and February, the Ark funds rallied as investors bet on the Trump administration’s potential deregulation that could benefit Wood’s tech bets. But the momentum faded in March and April, with the funds trailing the market as top holdings — especially Tesla, her biggest position — struggled amid growing concerns over the macroeconomy and trade policies.
Now, the fund is regaining momentum. As of June 20, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up more than 21% year-to-date, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 5% gain.
Wood’s remarkable return of 153% in 2020 helped build her reputation and attract loyal investors. Her strategy can lead to sharp gains during bull markets but also painful losses, like in 2022, when ARKK dropped more than 60%.
As of June 27, Ark Innovation ETF, with $5.5 billion under management, has delivered a five-year annualized return of 0.75%. The S&P 500 has an annualized return of 17.22% over the same period.
Wood’s investment strategy is straightforward: Her Ark ETFs typically buy shares in emerging high-tech companies in fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics.
According to Wood, these companies have the potential to reshape industries, but their volatility leads to major fluctuations in Ark funds’ values.
Related: Cathie Wood’s net worth: The Ark Invest CEO’s wealth & income
The Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth over the 10 years ending in 2024, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking.
Wood recently said the U.S. is coming out of a three-year “rolling recession” and heading into a productivity-led recovery that could trigger a broader bull market.
In a letter to investors published in late April, she dismissed predictions of a recession dragging into 2026 and struck an optimistic tone for tech stocks.
“During the current turbulent transition in the U.S., we think consumers and businesses are likely to accelerate the shift to technologically enabled innovation platforms including artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, blockchain technology, and multiomics sequencing,” she said.
But not all investors echo this optimism. Over the past 12 months through June 26, the Ark Innovation ETF saw $2.1 billion in net outflows, with $231.4 million exiting the fund in the past month, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
From June 23 to 25, Wood’s Ark funds bought 182,545 shares of Shopify Inc. (SHOP) . That chunk of stocks is worth $20.7 million as of June 27’s close.
Shopify is an Ottawa e-commerce platform provider that enables businesses to set up online stores. The stock peaked at $169 in November 2021, a surge during the Covid era when demand for e-commerce soared because of lockdowns. But it tumbled hard in 2022 as pandemic-fueled online shopping growth slowed and macroeconomic pressures increased. At one point in 2022, it traded for less than $30.
Related: Cathie Wood buys $31.8 million of surging AI stock
Earlier this year, Shopify had tumbled in a broad-based market sell-off associated with uncertainty and fear around Trump’s trade tariffs. Now the stock is regaining traction, up 48% from its April low. In the past five trading days, the stock surged 6.8%.
Wall Street analysts expect the company to maintain strong growth. In May, Shopify reported first-quarter revenue of $2.4 billion, up 27% from a year earlier. It was the eighth quarter in a row with revenue growth above 25%.
Meanwhile, gross merchandise value (GMV) for the quarter rose 23%, slower than revenue. That suggests Shopify’s services segment is expanding faster than its core business, potentially boosting profit margins, Chris MacDonald wrote on The Motley Fool.
DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria recently raised Shopify’s stock price target to $125 from $115 and kept a buy rating, thefly.com reported on June 16. The firm looked into Shopify’s merchant base and found that year-over-year growth has picked up. It also believes the business is proving more resilient than investors had expected.
Shopify joined Nasdaq-100 Index starting May 19, replacing MongoDB (MDB) . In the same month, Shopify unveiled new AI tools that can help businesses to start and grow.
“The Shopify Catalog lets select partners build AI shopping agents that can discover and showcase your products to millions of potential customers who are using conversational AI to shop,” the company wrote.
Fund manager buys and sells
Wells Fargo also raised its price target on Shopify to $125 from $107 and maintained its overweight rating after the AI announcement. The firm sees Shopify’s AI tools as differentiated and believes they could become a key driver of growth and efficiency in the coming years.
Shopify makes up about 4.59% of the ARK Innovation ETF, making it the fund’s ninth-largest holding. The stock closed at $113.65 on June 27, up 6.5% year-to-date.
Related: Top analyst sends bold message on S&P 500
Cathie Wood buys $20.7 million of surging tech stock first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 30, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.