Cathie Wood Sheds $14.5M In Spotify Amid Joe Rogan Controversy And Piles Up Another $31M In Robinhood

Cathie Wood-led Ark Investment Management on Friday further raised its exposure in Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD on the day shares of the financial services company rallied nearly 10% and shed shares in streaming audio-on-demand platform Spotify Technology SA SPOT amid the "The Joe Rogan Experience" controversy.

Ark Invest bought 2.45 million shares —estimated to be worth $31.15 million— in Robinhood.

The stock closed 9.65% higher at $12.73 a share on Friday and is down 31% year-to-date.

The asset management firm held 22 million shares — worth $255.8 million in Robinhood, prior to Friday’s trade. 

Ark Invest bought shares in Robinhood via all three of its active exchange traded funds through which it owns the stock — the Ark Innovation ETF ARKK, the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW and the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF ARKF. 

See Also: Robinhood Q4 Earnings Highlights: Lower MAU And Crypto Revenue, Updates on Crypto Wallets And Plans To Extend Trading Hours

Robinhood reported fourth-quarter results after-hours on Thursday and provided lower-than-expected first quarter guidance. 

Shares rallied on the cryptocurrency-linked company’s new product plans including "Crypto Wallets," which are currently in alpha testing. The company said a full launch is expected in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. 

Ark Invest has been buying shares in Robinhood since its lacklustre listing in July last year and has recently boosted buying the stock on the dip following the recent Bitcoin BTC/USD-led selloff in cryptocurrencies.

See Also: Cathie Wood Loads Up On These 3 Crypto-Exposed Stocks Amid Bitcoin Crash

Bitcoin prices are down 21% so far this year while Ethereum ETH/USD and Dogecoin DOGE/USD are down 32% and 20%, respectively.

Here are the other key Ark Invest trades on Friday:

• Bought 84,002 shares — estimated to be worth $14.5 million based on Friday’s closing price — in Spotify. The stock closed 0.97% higher at $172.9 a share and is 29% so far this year. Spotify found itself in the headlines last week when musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell asked for the removal of their music from the platform to protest the COVID-19-related content of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which they stated was spreading medical misinformation.
• Sold 25,378 shares — estimated to be worth $2.97 million — in Docusign Inc DOCU. Shares closed 5.96% higher at $117.3 a share on Friday. The stock is down 25.3% year-to-date.