Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, isn’t afraid to change her mind about a stock, sometimes just days after making a trade.
That’s what she did this week, buying back roughly $15 million worth of CoreWeave (CRWV) shares shortly after selling them.
Last year, her flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period. So far this year, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is down 2.51% as of Nov. 13’s close, while the S&P 500 surged 10.46%, Yahoo Finance data shows.
Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a rosy 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the ETF tumbled more than 60%.
Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of Nov. 12, her Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -8.23%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 10.15% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.
Cathie Wood says AI boom won’t slow down
Wood focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these businesses have strong growth potential, but their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark’s funds.
Over the decade ended 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out nearly $5 billion in investor wealth, according to a report by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the fourth-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in the ranking.
Wood remains optimistic about the stock market despite growing concerns about the Iran war, higher energy prices, and the recent U.S. elections.
She rejected concerns that Democrats’ election victories could slow the AI boom.
“Can this election derail the AI revolution? We don’t think so,” Wood wrote in an X post on Nov. 7.
Wood expects companies building data centers to care more for the local economy. The benefits include lower property taxes, higher-paying jobs, commercial developments, and funding for schools and facilities.
Wood also believes AI-driven productivity gains will also help ease affordability pressures while boosting corporate profits and investment.
“In our view, those gains will translate into higher compensation—helping to turn around affordability—as well as stronger margins, more investment, and lower prices,” she said.
Despite the market’s recent uncertainty, Wood believes investors are underestimating the economic growth that AI could deliver.
“We have experienced just a taste of this technology revolution,” she wrote. “The market’s uncertainty is understandable, but we believe the economy is on a stronger growth trajectory than most investors recognize.”
But not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. Over the past 12 months through Nov. 11, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.25 billion in net outflows, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi.
Cathie Wood rejected concerns that Democrats’ election victories could slow the AI boom.Getty Images
Cathie Wood buys $15 million of CoreWeave stock
On Nov. 12, Wood’s Ark funds bought a total of 283,022 shares of CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV), according to Ark’s daily trading information sent to TheStreet. These shares were worth about $15 million based on the latest closing price of $53.13.
Just a week earlier, Wood sold 463,297 CoreWeave shares on Nov. 5 and 6, when the stock was trading between roughly $43 and $46. She returned to the stock after its price climbed, buying shares at around $56.
The reversal came during a volatile week for the AI cloud provider.
CoreWeave shares surged 24.71% on Nov. 11 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year revenue forecast.
But the rally was short-lived. Shares fell 6.86% on Nov. 12 and sank another 6.60% on Nov. 13 after Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang resigned.
Nvidia supplies the chips that power CoreWeave’s AI data centers and holds a roughly 13% stake in the company; Huang has been a strong backer of CoreWeave. His departure makes investors worried about the future relationship between the two companies.
Despite its strong revenue growth, CoreWeave faces questions about how it will finance its rapid expansion. The company has been spending heavily on data centers and Nvidia chips to meet soaring demand for AI computing power.
CoreWeave reported $46.9 billion in total debt as of the end of September. Its third-quarter net loss widened to $709 million from $110 million a year earlier.
The company is looking to raise at least $4 billion through an investment-grade loan offering, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 11.
CoreWeave also raised the lower end of its full-year capital spending forecast to $37 billion from $35 billion, leaving the new range at $37 billion to $39 billion.
CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator reassured investors, pointing to approximately $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits expected over the next three months.
“The equipment is bought, the data centers are built. That lowers our capital intensity as we grow,” Intrator said in the earnings call. “In the next 3 months alone, we will collect approximately $9 billion in prepayments and deposits from signed customer contracts. This includes more than 3 billion that relate to recontracting existing cloud infrastructure.”
The company also expects to reach adjusted profitability in the first half of 2028. It raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $13 billion and $13.3 billion.
Barclays lowered its price target on CoreWeave to $85 from $105 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating, according to The Fly.
The firm pointed to strong quarterly results, accelerating revenue growth and improved visibility into the company’s financing needs. The note was published before Huang’s resignation.
As of Nov. 13’s close, CoreWeave stock was down more than 26% year-to-date.
CoreWeave is currently not among the top 10 holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF.
Top 10 holdings in the Ark Innovation ETF by market value and weight as of Nov. 13, 2026:
Tesla (TSLA): $873.1 million, 11.98%
SpaceX (SPCX): $579.3 million, 7.95%
Tempus AI (TEM): $448.4 million, 6.15%
Circle Internet Group (CRCL): $312 million, 4.28%
CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP): $291.6 million, 4.00%
Coinbase Global (COIN): $275.7 million, 3.78%
OpenAI Group: $252.5 million, 3.46%
Nvidia (NVDA): $248.8 million, 3.41%
Shopify (SHOP): $238.1 million, 3.27%
Twist Bioscience (TWST): $214 million, 2.94%
Other than buying CoreWeave shares, Wood’s recent moves included buying shares of Twist Bioscience (TWST), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Archer Aviation (ACHR), and Scribe Therapeutics (SCTX).
Wood also trimmed positions in Tempus AI (TEM), Amazon (AMZN), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and BYD (BYDDY).
