Cathie Wood buys $11.5 million of battered tech stock

Cathie Wood buys $11.5 million of battered tech stock Silin Chen Sun, June 28, 2026 at 5:33 AM GMT+7 6 min read ARKK ^GSPC COIN Cathie Wood, chief of Ark Investment Management, likes to double down on her favorite tech stocks when the prices are falling, hoping for a bargain. That's what Wood just did, adding shares of Coinbase after weeks of tumbling. In 2025, Wood's flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500's return of 17.88% in the same period. But so far this year, Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up just 0.33%, while the S&P 500 surged 7.43%, Yahoo Finance data shows. Wood gained a reputation after Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the Ark Innovation ETF tumbled more than 60%. Those swings have weighed on Wood's long-term gains. As of June 26, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -8.89%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 11.43% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar. Wood focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She thinks these businesses have strong growth potential, though their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark's funds. According to Morningstar analyst Bella Albrecht, two of Wood's Ark funds were among the worst-performing ETFs in the first quarter of 2026. The Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) ranked second on the list, while the ARK Innovation ETF placed fifth. From 2014 to 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth, according to a March 2025 analysis by Morningstar's analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott's ranking. The analyst hasn't updated her ranking. Wood believes investors have been focusing on the wrong signals as they assess the outlook for inflation, interest rates, and stocks. In a June 5 post on X, Wood said the bond market is increasingly reflecting the deflationary impact of technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, rather than the inflation risks many investors still fear. Related: Cathie Wood buys $52 million of surging tech stock Wood pointed to the continued flattening of the Treasury yield curve despite a sharp rise in oil prices over the past year. In previous cycles, she noted, an energy shock of that magnitude would have pushed long-term yields higher. Wood believes the bond market is "discounting something much more powerful: the deflationary impact of technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, which is beginning to increase productivity across broad swaths of the economy. " She also said easing tensions with Iran and a decline in oil prices could push inflation even lower. "The next phase of this cycle could be characterized by accelerating growth, declining inflation, falling interest rates, and a strengthening U.S. dollar," Wood said. "That combination would create a remarkably supportive backdrop for innovation-led equities and the technologies driving the next productivity boom." Not all investors agree with Wood's optimism. Over the past 12 months through June 24, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.01 billion in net outflows, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi. On June 25 and 26, Wood's Ark funds bought 77,380 shares of Coinbase Global (COIN), according to Ark's daily trade information. These shares are valued at approximately $11.5 million based on the latest closing price of $149.06. Wood has made multiple Coinbase purchases throughout June, including 111,799 shares on June 17, 13,065 shares on June 5, and 17,698 shares on June 4. In total, she bought 219,942 Coinbase shares during this month. Before June, her last Coinbase purchase was in March. Related: Wall Street veteran warns of epic stock market crash Coinbase runs the biggest crypto exchange in the U.S. and generates revenue through transaction fees from cryptocurrency trading on its platform. Coinbase's stock price is closely tied to the price of Bitcoin. When Bitcoin rises, trading activity usually picks up, which helps Coinbase through higher transaction revenue and better sentiment toward crypto stocks. When Bitcoin falls, trading slows, and Coinbase shares could face pressure. Year-to-date, Coinbase stock has plunged 34.09%, while bitcoin has tumbled 30.6%, both largely underperforming the S&P 500 index. But Wood has long been bullish on Bitcoin and Coinbase. In May, Wood reaffirmed her bullish forecast that Bitcoin could reach $1.25 million within five years. Even her bearish scenario projects Bitcoin around $750,000. "The bull case involves a substitution for gold," Wood said during an interview with Fox Business. "So as generational wealth transfer takes place, we think that younger people are more prone to adopting a digital store of value. So that would

Cathie Wood buys $11.5 million of battered tech stock

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