Cathie Wood's ETFs sell Tesla's stock for the first time in 9 months

By Tomi Kilgore

The Ark Innovation ETF had been loading up on Tesla shares as they dipped - and it's now selling on the rally

As Tesla Inc.'s stock is back on the upswing, high-profile investor Cathie Wood's ETFs are selling again.

Wood's flagship Ark Innovation ETF ARKK sold 56,425 Tesla shares (TSLA) on Tuesday, valued at $13.05 million at Tuesday's closing price.

The sale by no means suggests a change in strategy, as Tesla remains the ETF's largest holding by far with a 14.6% weighting, valued at $891.89 million as of Wednesday morning. But it did mark the ETF's first sale since Oct. 18.

The sale comes after Tesla's stock closed Tuesday at a six-month high after strong second-quarter deliveries data.

Also read: Tesla's stock should hit $2,600 in five years, says Cathie Wood's Ark Invest.

The ETF is essentially continuing its pattern of trimming its stake as the stock rallies, after loading up on the dip.

Tesla shares jumped 6% in morning trading Wednesday, putting them on track for a seventh straight gain. That would be their longest winning streak since the 13-day streak that ended June 13, 2023.

The stock has now run up 23.9% in two days, soared 34.3% during its seven-day win streak and rocketed 72.6% since April 22, when it closed at a 15-month low of $142.05.

Coincidentally, ARKK's last purchase of Tesla shares was on April 23.

Ark had started buying Tesla stock on Dec. 20, after it had tumbled nearly 16% since its 2023 closing peak of $293.34 on July 18.

The ETF bought a total of 2,069,794 Tesla shares from then to April 23. In addition, the Ark Net Generation Internet ETF ARKW had bought 444,508 shares and the Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ARKQ had purchased 89,139 shares during that time.

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On Tuesday, the Ark Net Generation ETF sold 6,442 shares of Tesla. The EV giant still has a weighting of 10.3% in the ETF, valued at $152.54 million.

Despite the recent surge, Tesla's stock has still lost 1.3% year to date, while the ARKK has dropped 12.5% and the S&P 500 index SPX has rallied 15.7%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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07-03-24 1055ET

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