So far, 2022 has not been pleasant for Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) as the company has lost more than 40% of its value year-to-date. However, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has been taking advantage of the dip. Last Friday, the Ark Innovation (NYSEMKT:ARKK) exchange-traded fund (ETF) reported purchasing 434,167 shares of HOOD stock. After the purchase, Ark Invest owns a total of 28 million shares.
Cathie Wood Buys HOOD Stock
The Ark Innovation ETF isn’t the only Ark Invest ETF that has capitalized on Robinhood’s decline this year. The online brokerage is also owned by ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEMKT:ARKW) and Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSEMKT:ARKF). Robinhood accounts for 2.03% of ARKK, 2.08% of ARKW and 4.09% of ARKF, as of Friday’s close. On top of that, Ark Invest reported holding 21.27 million shares of Robinhood at the end of 2021, so the firm has purchased about 6.7 million shares this year.
While everyone seems to be bailing on Robinhood, Ark Invest seems to grow more bullish. Robinhood recently announced the acquisition of Ziglu, a fintech firm based in London that allows its users to trade cryptocurrencies. Robinhood paused expansion plans in Britain two years ago, so this move appears to reflect that the company has revived those plans.
Furthermore, the company announced this month that it will support more popular cryptocurrencies, like Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD) and Solana (SOL-USD), on its platform. In Q4 of 2021, cryptocurrency transactions accounted for less than 20% of total revenue. Based on recent developments, it seems that Robinhood seeks to increase this figure.
Who Else Is Betting Big on Robinhood?
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large funds provide liquidity and price support for stocks. During Q4, 259 funds reported owning Robinhood, an increase of 126 funds from the previous quarter. Furthermore, 168 funds reporting initiating a new position, while 41 funds closed out their positions. Meanwhile, the institutional put/call ratio lies at 0.7, which means that more funds are holding call options against the company than put options. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top five shareholders:
- Baiju Bhatt, chief creative officer and co-founder: 77.62 million shares, or 10.48% ownership.
- Index Venture Associates: 72.33 million shares, or 9.77% ownership.
- NEA Management Company: 71.46 million shares, or 9.65% ownership.
- Galileo (PTC): 58.06 million shares, or 7.84% ownership.
- Vlad Tenev, CEO and co-founder: 53.40 million shares, or 7.21% ownership.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
