Cathie Wood dumps PLTR, buys SHOP, AMD, TSM and AMZN

Cathie Wood’s Bold—but Controversial—Investment Strategy

Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest Management, continues to be a polarizing figure in the investing world. She is known for her daring bets on disruptive technology companies—Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) being one of the prime examples. While her high-risk, high-reward strategy sometimes seems to anticipate market trends, it has also led to considerable losses when growth stocks underperform. Moreover, Wood has earned a reputation for setting very high price targets and making ambitious predictions that have yet to come to fruition.

Ark Invest primarily manages its assets through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with its flagship product, the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK), receiving the most attention. Although ARKK was the top-performing ETF globally in 2020, its performance has cooled since then. As of the latest update, ARKK is trading at around $61.58, marking an 8.47% gain for the year so far.

Significant Moves with Palantir Stock

Since the start of the year, ARKK has taken decisive steps to reduce its exposure to Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR). In early January, the fund sold 221,950 shares of Palantir, which were worth about $17 million at the time. This initial sale was soon followed by another transaction in the first week of February, when Ark divested 71,069 shares valued at roughly $7.37 million.

The sell-off did not stop there. On February 11, Wood executed an additional sale of 172,382 Palantir shares for approximately $19.4 million. In total, ARKK has liquidated nearly $43.77 million worth of Palantir stock this year.

At the time of these transactions, Palantir shares were trading at around $113.53, reflecting a significant rally of 50.11% since the start of 2025. This surge was primarily driven by an impressive Q4 2024 earnings report that boosted the stock from $83 to $110. However, despite these gains, concerns remain about the company’s high valuation. Notably, insiders have sold more than $40 million in Palantir shares since the beginning of the year, suggesting that key personnel view the current price levels as an opportune moment for profit-taking—and possibly hinting at the risk of a temporary price correction.

Shifting Focus to More Conservative Investments

In parallel with reducing its Palantir stake, Ark Invest has been rebalancing its portfolio by making several new purchases that lean toward more conservative, defensive sectors. Among these, the largest acquisitions were in Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM) and Deere & Co (NYSE: DE).

Iridium Communications, a satellite company that has faced challenges in 2024, attracted renewed interest when Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery issued a ‘Buy’ rating on February 10. Flannery set a price target of $38 for IRDM, suggesting a 36% upside from its current price of $27.81. He pointed to the company’s robust share repurchase program and solid commercial IoT revenue growth as key factors behind his positive outlook.

Meanwhile, Deere & Co—widely recognized as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tractors—was another notable addition. Despite only a modest 5.68% gain in 2024, Deere’s shares have rallied by 13% since the beginning of the year. ARKK allocated approximately $15.85 million to buy shares of Iridium Communications and an additional $13.84 million to acquire Deere stock.

The remaining portion of Wood’s new investments, totaling about $9.75 million, focused on sectors such as biotech and cloud computing. Together, these moves illustrate a broader strategy by Ark Invest to rebalance its portfolio toward a more defensive and diversified approach, reducing exposure to high-risk growth stocks in favor of steadier performers.