Cathie Wood’s Ark Buys More Robinhood as Data Breach Hits Broker

Cathie Wood’s ARK stepped up buying of Robinhood shares after the company revealed it had suffered a cyber attack.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management stepped up buying of Robinhood Markets Inc. shares as the online broker dropped after saying it had suffered a cyber attack.

Ark, which is already the fifth largest shareholder of Robinhood, increased the pace of buying as the stock fell 3.4% after the trading platform said it had suffered a data security breach on Nov. 3. The brokerage app is reeling from the largest hack in its history, which compromised private details of about one-third of its users. 

Ark Next Generation Internet ETF bought 158,350 shares of the online broker on Tuesday, about 73% higher than what Ark Fintech Innovation ETF bought a day earlier, according to the asset manager’s daily trading updates. 

Ark has been buying Robinhood for its various funds almost every trading day since Oct. 25, just two days before the stock dropped below its initial public offering price of $38 per share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Wood and her firm frequently say that they have at least a five-year investment horizon, and acknowledge that the disruptive companies they target are often volatile. 

More on Robinhood data breach
Even Emails Leave Robinhood Users Exposed to Financial Criminals
Robinhood Data Breach Nightmare Hinged on Customer Service Slip
Why 310 of Robinhood’s Cyber-Attack Victims Should Really Worry

The daily trading updates from Ark show only active decisions by the management team and do not include creation or redemption activity caused by investor flows. For that reason, the firm’s exact trading activity may vary.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Elliott Stein said in a note on Monday that “legal fallout from Robinhood’s data breach disclosed on Nov. 8 should be minimal.”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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