Thursday brought significant portfolio reshuffling from Cathie Wood's Ark Invest, with the firm making bold moves in both chipmakers and cryptocurrency-adjacent stocks. The headline? A nearly $17 million bet on Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) paired with an AMD exit, all while crypto markets took a beating.
The Big Nvidia Bet
Ark's flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) picked up 93,374 shares of Nvidia valued at approximately $16.9 million, based on Thursday's closing price of $180.64.
The timing is interesting. Nvidia just posted stellar third-quarter results with revenue climbing 62% year-over-year to $57 billion. Demand for Jensen Huang's Blackwell chips continues to surge, cementing the company's dominance in AI infrastructure. But here's the twist: despite those impressive earnings, Nvidia stock couldn't hold its post-earnings rally and actually finished the day down 3.15%.
That kind of sell-the-news action didn't seem to bother Wood, who apparently saw the dip as a buying opportunity.
Out With AMD
While loading up on Nvidia, Ark was simultaneously backing away from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). The firm dumped shares across multiple funds including Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and ARKK.
The total damage? 14,087 shares worth roughly $2.9 million, based on AMD's closing price of $206.02.
This move comes despite AMD notching some strategic wins lately, including a major AI project in France. But the stock has faced pressure amid broader semiconductor sector concerns that emerged following Nvidia's earnings report. It's a classic case of rising tide lifting all boats—except when the tide goes out, some boats sink faster than others.
Crypto Stocks Get Some Love
Despite cryptocurrency markets experiencing what you might politely call "a rough day," Ark doubled down on crypto-exposed stocks with nearly $29 million in combined purchases.
Bitmine Immersion: An Ethereum Proxy
Ark's ARKK and ARKF funds collectively grabbed 380,244 shares of Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (BMNR), totaling approximately $9.9 million based on the $26.02 closing price.
Bitmine's stock has been riding a volatility rollercoaster lately, largely because the company holds massive amounts of Ethereum (ETH). The Tom Lee-chaired firm became the world's largest corporate Ethereum holder with over 3.55 million tokens—that's about 2.9% of the entire global supply. Basically, buying Bitmine stock is like buying Ethereum with extra steps.
And Ethereum? Not having a great week. The cryptocurrency briefly dipped below $2,800, wiping out all gains since mid-July before staging a partial overnight recovery. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $87,000 for the first time in seven months, trading in a range between $86,040.80 and $93,025.07—roughly 30% below its six-week-old all-time highs.
Bullish Rides Strong Earnings
Ark's ARKF, ARKK, and ARKW funds acquired 264,534 shares of Bullish (BLSH), valued at approximately $9.65 million based on the $36.50 closing price.
The digital asset exchange delivered solid third-quarter results on Wednesday, with revenue hitting $76.5 million and beating analyst estimates of $71.2 million. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.10, right in line with expectations.
Not everything was rosy though. Digital asset sales declined to $41.6 billion from $54.2 billion year-over-year, and adjusted transaction revenue fell to $26.7 million. Still, the company launched crypto options with 14 partners and reported that liquidity partnerships more than doubled, with momentum carrying into the fourth quarter.
Circle Gets Another Round of Buying
ARKK purchased 134,650 shares of Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL), valued at approximately $9 million based on Thursday's closing price of $66.93.
Circle, the issuer of the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, has been catching analyst attention lately. Baird upgraded the stock to Outperform with a $110 price target, while Bernstein maintained its Outperform rating with an even more aggressive $230 target.
The company's third-quarter performance backs up the optimism: $740 million in revenue, $166 million in adjusted EBITDA, and $214 million in net income—a 202% year-over-year increase. Those are the kind of numbers that get growth investors excited.
This wasn't Ark's first Circle rodeo this week either. On Wednesday, the firm bought $15.06 million worth of Circle stock, and the day before that, another $3.06 million. Wood clearly likes what she sees.
Other Notable Moves
Beyond the headline trades, Ark made several other portfolio adjustments Thursday:
- Sold 170,646 shares of Exact Sciences Corp from ARKG and 761,515 shares from ARKK
- Dumped 12,624 shares of Teradyne Inc from ARKK
- Bought 496,586 shares of Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc in ARKK
The Chip Battle Scoreboard
Market data indicates AMD stock currently has a value ranking in just the 6th percentile compared to peers—a stark contrast to its chip rival Nvidia. That valuation gap might explain why Ark is shifting its semiconductor allocation from one to the other.
Of course, with crypto markets tumbling and tech stocks experiencing post-earnings volatility, Thursday's trades represent a bet that current prices offer attractive entry points. Whether Wood's timing proves prescient or premature will depend on how both semiconductor demand and cryptocurrency markets evolve over the coming months. But one thing's certain: Ark isn't sitting on the sidelines waiting for clarity.