Cathie Wood's Alpha Surge: $250 Million Circle Windfall, Big AMD Buys

Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, has recently been on a hot streak of successful and high-profile trades through her flagship ARK ETFs. 

What To Know: Wood's recent notable trades include selling a significant stake in Circle Internet Group Inc. CRCL and increasing her investment in Advanced Micro Devices AMD. 

These moves reflect a strategic shift in ARK's portfolio, emphasizing established technology and semiconductor exposure while reducing positions in companies that have experienced rapid price appreciation.

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Last week, ARK offloaded more than 600,000 Circle shares for approximately $147.81 million, followed by more sales amounting to an additional nearly $100 million on Monday. 

Circle, known for issuing the USDC USDC/USD stablecoin, had seen its stock surge more than 650% since its initial public offering on June 5. Wood's decision to sell appears to be a classic profit-taking move after such a meteoric rise. 

At the same time, ARK has been ramping up its stake in AMD, purchasing over 130,000 shares on Monday and more than 247,000 shares in the previous week, totaling tens of millions of dollars in new investments. 

AMD is increasingly recognized as a strong alternative to NVIDIA Corp. NVDA in the AI chip market, with significant growth in data center and AI processor demand. 

AMD shares are up more than 30% over the past month. The stock received a boost from analyst upgrades, with CFRA raising its rating to Strong Buy and lifting its price target to $165 from $125. 

The upgrade reflects growing confidence in AMD's position within the semiconductor and AI sectors, areas where ARK has shown sustained interest.

Wood's strategy appears to be a bet on the broader AI chip market rather than picking a single winner, as evidenced by her holdings in both AMD and Nvidia. 

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