Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, purchased approximately $21 million worth of Block Inc. (XYZ) shares on Thursday after the fintech stock tumbled 6.15% following its second-quarter earnings report. The firm bought 267,676 shares across three exchange-traded funds: ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF.
Block closed at $79 on Thursday, a decline driven by concerns over rising operating expenses despite strong headline numbers. The company reported revenue of $6.62 billion, up 9% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $1.02, a 65% jump. Gross profit rose 25% to $3.17 billion.
However, analysts at Mizuho flagged that Block’s adjusted operating expenses are expected to climb from $4.48 billion in the first half of the year to $4.56 billion in the second half, based on company guidance. This cost pressure comes even after Block cut approximately 40% of its workforce in February. The stock’s drop marked its worst single-day move in recent weeks, prompting Ark to increase its position; Block already sits as the tenth-largest holding in the ARKW ETF with a $60 million value and a 3.51% portfolio weight.
Beyond Block, Ark made several other moves on the same day. It bought 20,318 shares of SpaceX worth about $2.3 million as the private company’s stock recovered 6.14% from a sharp sell-off. Ark also added 239,907 shares of MercadoLibre ($4.6 million) and 422,198 shares of Intellia Therapeutics ($4.6 million). On the sell side, the firm trimmed positions in Shopify ($16.9 million), Palantir ($3.79 million), Roblox, Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, and sold 39,509 Bullish shares worth roughly $910,000.
