Ark Invest Buys 124,000 Robinhood Shares for $15.35M

Ark Invest, the investment firm led by Cathie Wood, acquired more than 124,000 shares of Robinhood Markets on Thursday, valuing the purchase at approximately $15.35 million amid a sharp decline in the online brokerage's stock price. The transaction occurred as Robinhood's shares fell 9.1 percent to close at $123.38, following the release of its November performance data late Wednesday, which indicated slower trading volumes despite growth in deposits and margin balances.

The firm distributed the Robinhood shares across two of its exchange-traded funds: 96,048 shares, worth about $11.9 million, added to the Ark Innovation ETF, and 28,379 shares, valued at roughly $3.5 million, to the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF. As of December 12, Robinhood ranks as the seventh-largest holding in both funds, comprising 4.4 percent of the Innovation ETF's assets, or $351.6 million, and 4.7 percent of the Next Generation Internet ETF, equating to $106.9 million. Ark Invest maintains a policy of limiting any single holding to no more than 10 percent of a fund's total value to promote diversification and manage risk in volatile markets.

Robinhood's stock drop came despite recent efforts to...