Cathie Wood buys $7 million of popular AI stock

Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, is closely watched by many investors as her trades often signal potential entry or exit points for tech stocks. She sometimes buys her favorite names when they dip, hoping for bargains. That’s what she did this week, picking up a popular AI stock during the market sell-off.It’s been a weak start to the year for Wood. As of Feb. 26, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) was down 4.19% year to date, while the S&P 500 gained 0.93%, as pressure mounted on growth-focused tech stocks.Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. Last year, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period.But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the Ark Innovation ETF tumbled more than 60%.Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of Feb. 25, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -10.55%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 14.30% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar. In the 12 months through Feb. 24, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.44 billion in net outflows.Getty Images Cathie Wood rejects “AI bubble”Wood makes bets on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these businesses have great growth potential, though their volatility often brings fluctuations in the Ark funds.From 2014 to 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking. The analyst hasn’t updated the 2025 ranking.Related: Cathie Wood sends blunt 3-word message on stock outlook in 2026In a letter published on Jan. 15, Wood says the U.S. economy is storing up energy for a sharp rebound in 2026."Despite sustained real gross domestic product growth during the past three years, the underlying U.S. economy has suffered a rolling recession and has evolved into a coiled spring that could bounce back powerfully during the next few years," Wood wrote.Wood also rejects the “AI bubble” talk, saying it "is years away" and that "the most powerful capital spending cycle in history" is coming."What once was the cap in spending seems to have become a floor now that the AI, robotics, energy storage, blockchain technology, and multiomics sequencing platforms are ready for prime time," she said.Not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. In the 12 months through Feb. 24, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.44 billion in net outflows, according to ETF research firm VettaFi. Cathie Wood buys $7 million of AMD stockOn Feb. 23, Wood’s Ark funds bought 34,573 shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), valued at roughly $7 million, Ark’s daily trade information shows. Shares of AMD have doubled over the past year. The company is one of the two major AI chipmakers, though its rival Nvidia (NVDA) holds a dominant market share.Related: Billionaire Druckenmiller buys $152 million in megacap tech stocksEarlier in February, AMD reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates, but its first-quarter forecast disappointed some analysts, who expect higher figures given AMD's customers are ramping up spending on AI chips, CNBC reported.For the December quarter, AMD reported adjusted earnings of $1.53 a share on revenue of $10.27 billion, topping expectations of $1.32 and $9.67 billion, respectively. The company forecast first-quarter revenue of about $9.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million.On Feb. 24, AMD announced a long-term deal to supply Meta Platforms (META) with computing power. Shares of AMD jumped 8% that day. Other customers of AMD include OpenAI and Oracle (ORCL).Wood made the recent AMD trade on the day when the broader tech market was dragged down by Citrini Research’s report, which warned that the AI boom might cause mass layoffs in white-collar jobs and a collapse in the economy and stock market. The market rebounded in the following sessions, and many analysts and economists have said the report lacked a reality check.Pierre Yared, acting chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the report “violates some of the basic accounting in economics,” Bloomberg reported. Citadel Securities also said in a note that the past technological waves "have not produced runaway exponential growth, nor have they rendered labor obsolete.”AMD is now the ninth largest holding in the Ark Innovation ETF, making up nearly 4% of the portfolio. Wood has bought the stock several times this year after selling 483,132 shares in the fourth quarter of 2025, likely to lock in profits when it was trading near its highs.Top 10 holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF as of Feb. 26, 2026:Tesla (TSLA) 10.73%CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) 6.30%Tempus AI (TEM) 5.23%Roku (ROKU) 4.69%Shopify (SHOP) 4.36%Coinbase Global (COIN) 4.22%Robinhood Markets (HOOD) 4.04%Beam Therapeutics (BEAM) 3.94%Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 3.92%Roblox (RBLX) 3.65%AMD stock closed at $203.68 on Feb. 26 and is down 4.89% year to date.Related: Nvidia buys $3 billion in under-the-radar tech stocks, exits Arm