On Thursday, Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest surprised the market by selling shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), despite the stock's positive performance. The sale, amounting to approximately $6.4 million, included 22,690 shares from Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKK) and 2,972 shares from ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). This move contradicts Oppenheimer's recent share price target increase for Coinbase, raising questions about Ark Invest's strategy.
On Thursday, March 17th, 2022, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest made a significant move by divesting a portion of its holdings in Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), despite the stock's positive market performance on the same day.
This decision to sell Coinbase shares came as a surprise to many, given the stock's upward trajectory on the day of the trade. Notably, major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were trading with mixed results at the time of writing. Bitcoin was trading 2.7% higher at $67,632.08, while Ethereum traded 0.3% lower at $3,268.90.
According to a report by Benzinga, Coinbase shares were trading higher on Thursday. The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) involved in the Ark Invest trade were Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), which sold 22,690 and 2,972 shares, respectively. The value of the trade, calculated from the latest closing price of $249.61, amounted to approximately $6.4 million.
Interestingly, the sale occurred on the same day that New York-based financial firm Oppenheimer raised its share price target for Coinbase to $276, up from a previous target of $200. This new target price is around 10% higher than Wednesday's closing share price of Coinbase, which was $251.58.
In addition to the sale of Coinbase shares, Ark Invest also made several other key trades on Thursday. ARKF bought shares of SoFi Technologies Inc. (SOFI) and Roblox Corp. (RBLX), while selling shares of Twilio Inc. (TWLO). ARKG, another Ark Invest ETF, bought shares of 10x Genomics Inc. (TXG) and Verve Therapeutics Inc. (VERV). ARKW bought shares of Roku Inc. (ROKU) and sold shares of Twilio Inc. (TWLO).
These trades underscore Ark Invest's continued focus on disruptive innovation and emerging technologies. While the sale of Coinbase shares may have been unexpected, it is important to note that Ark Invest remains a significant investor in the company, with a stake of over 8 million shares.
The broader implications of Ark Invest's trades will be closely watched by investors as they seek to understand the firm's outlook on the technology and financial sectors.
