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Ark Invest Buys $21 Million in Block as Shares Drop 6%
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest bought about $21 million of Block shares after the fintech company’s stock fell more than 6% following its second-quarter earnings report. Ark added 267,676 Block shares across three of its actively managed exchange-traded funds on Thursday.
Block, which trades under the ticker XYZ, closed at about $79, down 6.15% for the session. The purchase increased Ark’s exposure to the company as investors weighed its latest quarterly results.
Ark Adds Block Across Three ETFs
Ark purchased Block shares through the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). The combined purchases totaled 267,676 shares, according to the investment manager’s latest trading disclosure.
Block was already a significant holding in Ark’s portfolios before the latest purchase. The company was the 10th-largest holding in ARKW, with a value of about $60 million and a portfolio weight of 3.51%.
Ark generally limits individual company positions to about 10% of a fund’s portfolio, according to its portfolio guidelines. Its daily trade notifications reflect portfolio adjustments made by its investment team after trades are completed.
Block Falls Despite Q2 Earnings Beat
Block reported adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share for the second quarter, ahead of Wall Street expectations. Revenue reached about $6.62 billion, while gross profit increased 25% from a year earlier to $3.17 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 31% to about $1.17 billion, and Block raised its full-year outlook following the results. The stock still declined after the report, while analysts also focused on Block’s operating expenses following its workforce restructuring.
Ark Maintains Exposure to Crypto-Linked Stocks
The Block purchase continues Ark’s activity in companies tied to digital assets and financial technology. The investment manager has also traded shares of Coinbase, Circle and other crypto-linked companies during recent portfolio adjustments.
Ark also bought 20,318 SpaceX shares across ARKK, ARKQ, ARKW and ARKX on Thursday. The purchase was worth roughly $2.2 million to $2.3 million based on Thursday’s closing price.
The Block purchase came as the company continues expanding Cash App, Square and its bitcoin-related products while operating with a smaller workforce.
