Tesla Finds A Buyer Again In Cathie Wood As Ark Loads Up $1.8M On Latest Dip

Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest Investment Management added more Tesla Inc TSLA shares to its portfolio on Monday, raising its exposure to the electric vehicle maker for the fifth time this month.

Ark Invest bought 2,800 shares, estimated to be worth $1.81 million, in Tesla on Monday.

Shares of the Elon Musk-led company closed 7.1% lower at $647.2 on Monday, and are down 46% this year, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

St. Petersburg, Florida-based Ark began buying shares in Tesla late last month when they plunged due to production issues in China and uncertainty over Musk’s $44 billion Twitter Inc TWTR take-private bid.

The popular investment firm scooped up 45,003 shares in Tesla last month and has bought 18,383 shares in June so far. 

See Also: Stock Bloodbath Continues, Pushing S&P 500 Into Bear Market Ahead Of Critical Fed Meeting

U.S. equities fell on Monday, with the benchmark S&P index clocking its fourth straight day of losses amid fears of another round of Fed rate hikes and recession following hotter-than-expected inflation data. 

The S&P index is now down over 21.8% year-to-date, confirming a bear market.

Tesla shares have also been under intense pressure since China introduced extensive COVID-19 lockdowns late in March, forcing production halts at Giga Shanghai. 

Austin, Texas-based Tesla last week also proposed a 3-for-1 stock split to triple the number of shares to 6 billion. Musk also warned of 10% job cuts at Tesla, but added that “hourly headcount will increase.”

Ark Invest owns shares in Tesla through three of its six actively traded exchange funds: Ark Innovation ETF ARKK, Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ARKQ and Ark Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW.

The three ETFs held 1.3 million shares worth $910 million in Tesla before Monday’s trade.