Shares of Cathie Wood’s flagship exchange-traded fund (ETF), the ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKK), finished the week in the red again following significant declines in the S&P 500. However, loyal investors haven’t lost faith in Ark Invest and Wood’s ETFs just yet.
During September, ARKK declined by over 8% but saw significant inflows of $434 million. That adds even further to the ETF’s total year-to-date (YTD) decline of more than 60%. During the third quarter, only the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS:ARKG) experienced gains and finished the period up 3.8%. The ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS:ARKQ) saw the largest quarterly decline of 10%.
Meanwhile, Ark Invest is diving deeper into cryptocurrency. The firm will make two of its crypto strategies available to registered investment advisors. Cathie Wood explained:
“The strategies will be separately managed accounts (SMAs) designed to meet the needs of financial advisors, wealth managers, and their clients by offering direct ownership, low minimums, and portfolio reporting integration among other benefits.”
This move comes as the crypto market has experienced historical volatility in 2022. Still, Ark crypto analyst Yassine Elmandjra believes that crypto investments are at an “attractive entry point for investors.”
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top five stocks that Cathie Wood and company have purchased this week.
5 Top Stocks Cathie Wood Is Buying This Week
1. Tesla (TSLA)
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock plunged lower this week after the electric vehicle (EV) company failed to meet expectations for Q3 deliveries. Deliveries came in at 343,000 vehicles, while analysts had expected 364,660 deliveries. In addition, Tesla produced 365,000 vehicles during the quarter.
On top of that, Tesla’s AI Day came as a disappointment to investors due to the lack of progress made on its robot, Optimus. The bot appeared clunky and unfinished and made a feeble attempt at taking steps on stage. Investors were quick to take to social media to compare Optimus to Boston Dynamics’ more advanced bots.
However, it wasn’t all bad news for the EV company. Today, Tesla announced that it’s initiating production of its long-awaited semi truck. On Dec. 1, PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) will be the first customer to receive the truck. The truck is expected to cost $180,000 with a range of 500 miles per charge. Pepsi reserved 100 trucks back in 2017, although current order details have not been disclosed.
On Oct. 3, ARKK and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW) purchased a combined 132,212 shares of TSLA stock. After the purchases, Ark now owns a total of 3.9 million shares.
2. Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA)
Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) has seen its market capitalization plunge by more than 60% this year, although Wood hasn’t lost faith just yet. From Oct. 5 to Oct. 6, ARKK and ARKG purchased a combined 1.2 million shares of the biotechnology company.
Furthermore, Ginkgo announced the acquisition of two companies on Oct. 4. The first company is French biotech player Altar, which possesses its own proprietary adaptive evolution platform. Ginkgo will use the platform for a variety of industries, such as biofuels, food and drink and biomaterials. Ginkgo and Altar have previously collaborated in the past on customer programs.
Meanwhile, the second acquisition is Circularis, which possesses a “proprietary circular RNA and promoter screening platform.” Head of Mammalian Foundry Narendra Maheshri added the following about the deal:
“We are excited to leverage the strong expertise of the Circularis team to further develop circular RNA methods for therapeutic use, and can’t wait to incorporate this technology into existing and upcoming cell programs across therapeutic applications as well as more broadly.”
3. Roblox (RBLX)
Roblox (NASDAQ:RBLX) hosted its investors day meeting last month, although analysts weren’t too pleased. The company announced several new features, such as in-game voice chat, further avatar customizations and immersive advertisements. That wasn’t enough to impress Wedbush analyst Nick McKay.
McKay believes that Roblox’s graphics are reminiscent of those seen on video games consoles a decade ago. He also characterized several of the new features as “already-proven concepts” on other platforms. As a result, Roblox may have difficulty retaining older and wealthier users. In addition, McKay believes that Roblox’s game engine faces stiff competition from Unity Software (NYSE:U). The analyst estimates that 70% of all games are developed using Unity’s platform, which could “undercut Roblox’s business model.”
That hasn’t stopped Cathie Wood from increasing her RBLX stock stake, however. On Oct. 3, ARKK and ARKW purchased a combined 201,280 shares of Roblox.
4. UiPath (PATH)
UiPath (NYSE:PATH) is the fourth-largest holding among all ARK ETFs with a 4.14% allocation. Between Oct. 3 and Oct. 5, Ark added a total of 73,646 shares.
That said, waning macroeconomic conditions have caused UiPath’s customers to wind down spending. On the bright side, the robotic process automation company’s management believes customers will return to signing deals once conditions improve. For fiscal year 2023, revenue is expected to come in at over $1 billion. Meanwhile, revenue for the next year is forecasted to be $1.2 billion.
Earlier this week, Lee Hawksley was appointed as the company’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific and Japan. Hawksley brings extensive technology and leadership experience across Asia. He will report to Chief Business Officer Chris Weber.
5. Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) is a brand new addition to the Ark Invest family, as Cathie Wood first purchased shares of the company on Sept. 26. This week, the firm tacked on another 422,467 shares of RKLB stock, bringing the total share count to 1.28 million shares.
In September, Rocket Lab announced that it had signed an agreement with the United States Transportation Command for the agency to use its Electron and Neutron rockets. The reusable Electron rocket has been successfully launched 31 times and deployed over 151 satellites. Meanwhile, the Neutron rocket is also reusable, although it’s still undergoing development. On top of this, the Pentagon may be interested in Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft as well to help with “on-orbit cargo depots.”
Rocket Lab has quietly emerged as a competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. As the space race progresses between the three companies, it will be interesting to see which name emerges on top.
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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.
