Cathie Wood, the influential investor and founder of ARK Invest, has hit back at short seller Hindenburg Research’s recent report on Block Inc (NYSE: SQ), calling it “wildly misleading”. Wood said she saw the recent sell-off as an opportunity to expand her exposure to the stock and purchased more than 600,000 shares of the crypto company late last week.
Wood mobilized three of her exchange-traded funds to load up on 338,000 Block shares last Thursday, and also increased her stake in Coinbase after the crypto exchange confirmed that it received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for potentially violating securities laws. At the time of writing, Coinbase stock is down 20% versus its high.
Block Inc was hit hard last week after Hindenburg Research revealed a short position in the company. The consensus overweight rating on Block shares suggests analysts view Hindenburg’s concerns broadly as overblown.
Wood grilled the short seller and shared a Twitter thread from an Ark associate Maximilian Friedrich, who said: “All financial services companies, including banks, encounter and combat fraud, especially during COVID – Square and Cash App are no exception, although the short report makes it sound like it.”
Ark spent $16 million to purchase another 263,562 of Block shares that are now down well over 30% versus their year-to-date high. Wall Street appears to be siding with Wood on the issue.
Wood has been described as one of the most successful investors of her generation, and her funds have delivered impressive returns in recent years. Despite seeing setbacks, she has become a well-known and influential figure in the investment world.
