12 Best ARK Stocks To Invest In

Published on August 26, 2021 at 12:45 pm by Trish Novicio in Hedge Funds, News

In this article, we discuss the 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 5 Best ARK Stocks to Invest In.

As technology and growth stocks surged during the pandemic, ARK Investment Management and Cathie Wood became two of retail investors’ favorites over the previous year. The New York-based asset management firm is well-known for investing heavily in high-growth tech stocks in fields such as artificial intelligence, fintech, autonomous vehicles, robotics, and DNA sequencing. Cathie Wood’s flagship fund, the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK), is stacked with tech stocks like Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA).

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, ARK Investment Management had a portfolio of $53.7 billion.

ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS: ARKG) is one of the “disruptive innovation” ETFs offered by ARK Investment Management, and it has returned 31% in the last year. The fund focuses on biotech breakthroughs that improve people’s lives. Some of the biotech stocks included in Cathie Wood’s ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS: ARKG) are telemedicine firm Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) and gene-editing company Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA).

Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) and Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) are up 4.43% and 6%, respectively, in the previous month.

Meanwhile, on April 14, Delaware-based cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) held its initial public offering (IPO), and ARK Investment Management founder Cathie Wood, a longtime bitcoin bull, purchased approximately $245.9 million in Coinbase Global, Inc. shares. As of August 25, ARK Investment Management holds approximately 5.89 million shares of Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN). The stock has gained 10.3% in the previous month.

Cathie Wood of ARK Investment Management

The diversification of each high-growth ETF offered by ARK continues to appeal to retail investors yet the entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and July 2021, our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 186.1%, vs. 100.1% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points (see the details here). That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.

Our Methodology

The stocks on our list were ranked from lowest to highest weightage in Ark Investment Management’s flagship fund, Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

We also considered the fundamentals and prospects for the growth of these stocks based on key business characteristics. We also looked at analyst ratings to give potential investors more information so they could make better investment decisions.

Data from the 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey was also used to gauge hedge fund sentiment around each stock. With this context in mind, here is our list of the 12 best ARK stocks to invest in.

Best ARK Stocks to Invest In

12. CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34

Weight: 2.80%

We start our list of the 12 best ARK stocks to invest in with Swedish gene-editing company CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP). The biotech firm is developing CTX001, a gene-editing therapy that boosts hemoglobin levels and prevents blood vessel occlusion in patients with severe sickle cell disease for up to nearly two years. CTX001 is being co-developed by CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) and is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical trials.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 4,917,323 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) worth $621 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 2.80% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) saw its stock rise 3.2% on July 30 after the company announced plans to file a regulatory filing for CTX001 within the next 18 to 24 months. On August 16, Canaccord analyst Arlinda Lee maintained a Buy rating on CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) and increased its price target to $160 per share from $151 previously, highlighting the company’s anticipated regulatory filing.

The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) reported an EPS of $9.44, beating estimates by $6.32. The company’s revenue in the second quarter came in at $900.7 million and beat revenue estimates by $484.25 million. The stock has gained 41% in the past twelve months.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 34 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.76 billion in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP), up from 27 in the preceding quarter worth $1.41 billion.

Just like Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) is one of the best ARK stocks to invest in, according to market analysts.

11. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26

Weight: 2.96%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) is a Denver-based software company that ranks 11th on the list of 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. Since its inception in 2003, Palantir has created a number of software platforms for the intelligence industry in the US, including the defense and intelligence platform Palantir Gotham, enterprise solution Palantir Foundry, and a continuous delivery system Palantir Apollo.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 26,177,482 shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) worth $657 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 2.96% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

On August 13, Wolfe Research analyst Alex Zukin maintained a Peer Perform rating on Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) and increased its price target to $25 per share from the previous $20, citing strong Q2 earnings. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) saw its stock rise 11.4% on August 12 after the firm reported solid second-quarter profits that beat Wall Street expectations.

The company has a market cap of $46.9 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) reported an EPS of $0.04, beating estimates by $0.01. The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $376 million, an increase from 49% year over year, and beat revenue estimates by $14.54 million. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) anticipates $385 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2021, with an adjusted operating margin of 22%.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 26 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.36 billion in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), down from 32 in the preceding quarter worth $1.14 billion.

In its Q2 2021 investor letter, Guardian Fund mentioned Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:

“The success of the private sector to innovate in order to help people through the lockdowns and to produce vaccines at record speed at scale has been impressive. The fact that almost every public institution was struggling to be effective no matter how hard some of the people worked, shows the fundamental need of the public sector to become data-driven and invest in data infrastructure.

Government institutions have to partner with enterprises such as Palantir to become digital-native. The public sector will always struggle to attract the most talented engineers as compensations cannot be justified with tax money and therefore this must be a partnership with specialized private enterprises. This is a great opportunity for Palantir especially as it has already

shown to be capable of working with demanding and complex public institutions entrusting it to work on the most critical and sensitive matters.

The news section of Palantir’s website gives insight into where new business is coming from. The main opportunity is in enterprise software and the faster onboarding time and increased self-service of clients is a positive sign. We believe Palantir is becoming one of the more important global software companies.

In addition, Palantir has quietly become a significant investor, investing well over USD 200 million in eight companies. Thereby, it is following the lead of companies like Tencent, Alphabet, and Shopify of establishing valuable investment portfolios.”

10. Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41

Weight: 3.12%

Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) is a gene-editing company and it ranks 10th o the list of 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. The Massachusetts-based biotech company utilizes CRISPR/Cas9 technology, a gene-editing tool, in drug discovery for severe oncological and autoimmune illnesses.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 4,271,118 shares of Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) worth $693 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 3.12% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

On August 6, Raymond James analyst Steven Seedhouse maintained an Outperform rating on Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) and increased its price target to $181 per share from $168 previously. The positive data from Intellia Therapeutics, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: NTLA) ongoing Phase 1 trial for the company’s flagship in vivo genome-editing candidate NTLA-2001, a single-dose treatment for TTR amyloidosis, were highlighted by the analyst. Shares of Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) climbed 11.43% in the previous month.

The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion. In the second-quarter earnings posted on August 5, Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) reported an EPS of -$0.01, missing estimates by -$0.40. The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $6.55 million. The stock has gained 174%, year to date.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 41 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.28 billion in Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA), up from 29 in the preceding quarter worth $1.13 billion.

Just like Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) is one of the best ARK stocks to invest in, according to market analysts.

9. Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 98

Weight: 3.57%

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) is a San Francisco-based cloud communications platform provider and it ranks 9th on the list of 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) provides a variety of application programming interfaces (APIs) that help businesses boost consumer interaction.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 2,230,276 shares of Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) worth $793 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 3.57% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

On July 30, Mizuho analyst Siti Panigrahi maintained a Buy rating on Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) and increased its price target to $430 per share from the previous $400, noting the solid growth of the company’s second-quarter revenue. Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) is still one of the major beneficiaries of post-pandemic digitization efforts, according to Siti Panigrahi.

The company has a market cap of $60.40 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) reported an EPS of -$0.11. The company’s second-quarter revenue grew 67% year over year to $668.93 million and beat revenue estimates by $69.83 million. Shares of Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) jumped 35% year to date.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 98 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $7.89 billion in Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO), down from 99 in the preceding quarter worth $5.81 billion.

Just like Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) is one of the best ARK stocks to invest in, according to market analysts.

In its Q2 2021 investor letter, Lakehouse Capital mentioned Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:

“The Fund held 20 positions as of the end of June and exited four during the year (including) Twilio. The companies we exited were sold almost entirely on the basis of their valuations getting stretched well past their norms and to levels where the return profile no longer offered the asymmetric upside that led us to invest in the first place. We dislike selling on valuation as great growth companies are hard to find and letting winners run is an important facet of a winning growth strategy, however, we’re not gluttons for punishment either and in each of those cases we redeployed capital towards other high-quality growth companies with less demanding valuations.”

8. Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 85

Weight: 3.96%

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) is a Canadian e-commerce firm that ranks 8th on the list of 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) holds 23% of the e-commerce market in the United States. Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) released its mobile app, Shop, in April 2020, and by the end of Q2 2021, the app had over 118 million registered users.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 571,751 shares of Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) worth $879 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 3.96% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) stock gained 2.02% in premarket trading on July 28 after the company surpassed consensus sales projections for the 13th quarter in a row. On July 29, Roth Capital analyst Darren Aftahi maintained a Buy rating on Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) and raised its price target to $1,800 per share from $1,750 previously, citing the e-commerce behemoth’s growth potential from continued investment and global expansion.

The company has a market cap of $184.9 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) reported an EPS of $2.24, beating estimates by $1.28. The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $1.12 billion, an increase of 57% year over year, and beat revenue estimates by $69.15 million. Shares of Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) climbed 31%, year to date.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 85 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $13.9 billion in Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), down from 91 in the preceding quarter worth $9.98 billion.

In its Q2 2021 investor letter, Worm Capital LLC mentioned Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:

“In particular, the very nature of travel is changing: Longer stays, more flexible remote work policies, and so on. As its marketplace matures, we see significant similarities to our position in Shopify: An international focus led by managers who understand that, in land-grab environment, focusing on its unique value proposition for its sellers—i.e. keep costs low, improve the platform with additional features, etc.—takes precedent over short-term earnings. In other words, we like businesses that play the long game. Unlike Airbnb, Shopify drove positive attribution this past quarter. Still, we think this opportunity is still vastly undervalued over the long-term.

Last year, in the Q2 2020 Investor Letter, we wrote a bit about the similarities and differences between AMZN and SHOP, but concluded they “both display winner-take-most dynamics in their respective domains.” We still believe that thesis is true: E-commerce is still, relatively speaking, in its early days. Despite the pandemic push, e-commerce retail still represents less than 15% of overall retail sales, per latest Fed data.

What that means, in practice, is that the opportunity for low-end disruption (i.e. create a scalable backbone for sellers to launch e-commerce business cheaply) is an enormous, underappreciated opportunity to create new economic value. Shopify is growing its GMV at high velocity (114% YoY in its most recent quarter to over $37 billion) but it’s a tricky business to value—which is good. We like tricky valuations. Our research process looks out several years into the future, which is really the only way to value a business properly—especially in a disruptive environment. (Trying to look at potential short-term earnings or even a simple price-to-sales multiple is not a good way to model out valuations on Shopify.) When thinking about a position like Shopify, we view them as generational company—much like AMZN—that is building the global infrastructure to enable small and medium-sized business to transact online, and, most importantly, keep their unique identity and branding.

Where AMZN optimizes for efficiency, SHOP optimizes for experience. The scale of this opportunity is vast, and Shopify’s reach is wide. The focus—much like ABNB—is keeping costs low for sellers, attract new vendors, improving the ecosystem for merchants. “The rebels are winning,” Shopify president Harley Finkelstein said recently (in a quote we liked so much we made it the title of this letter). “We are betting on a different vision of the future of commerce. We are making it possible for every business to present their brand in their own unique way. A stark contrast to selling on a centralized marketplace.”

7. Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94

Weight: 3.99%

Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a San Francisco-based fintech giant that ranks 7th on the list of 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) provides payment processing solutions to different enterprises. Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) also operates Cash App, a money transfer and trading mobile app with over 40 million monthly transacting active customers as of June 2021.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 3,280,721 shares of Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) worth $886 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 3.99% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

On August 3, RBC Capital analyst Daniel Perline maintained an Outperform rating on Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and increased its price target to $312 per share from $305 earlier. Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) recently announced a $29 billion acquisition of Afterpay Limited (OTC: AFTPF), which is set to close in the first quarter of 2022. Following Square Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja’s comments about the potential of Afterpay Limited (OTC: AFTPF) in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) sector, shares of Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) gained 6.5% in mid-afternoon trading on August 5.

The company has a market cap of $124 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) reported an EPS of $0.66, beating estimates by $0.35. The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $4.68 billion, an increase of 143% year over year. The stock has gained 24%, year to date.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 94 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.3 billion in Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), up from 92 in the preceding quarter worth $9.20 billion.

In its Q2 2021 investor letter, RiverPark Funds mentioned Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:

“We established a position in leading Financial Technology provider Square during the quarter. Through one integrated system, SQ is a hybrid of two businesses: its Seller Business (charging small and medium-sized businesses about 3% for transaction payment processing, plus other services such as instant funds access, and software for everything from customer engagement to payroll), and its Cash App (originally for person-to-person cash transfers and now a growing digital financial services provider for consumers).

The combined business has grown gross profit at a 37% CAGR over the past five years to $2.7 billion (due to pass through costs, gross profit is more reflective of top-line growth) and we believe that the company has an enormous long-term runway, as it has less than a 2% share of a more than $160 billion market. It is our view that the company’s Cash App (which has grown

from nothing in 2015 to $1.2 billion gross profit last year) has a particularly large opportunity with its powerful ecosystem of digital financial services including digital wallets, direct deposits, stock trading, bitcoin trading, and business and tax services, which are all relatively new. The vast majority of Cash App’s more than 36 million users are younger and, importantly, are willing to replace their bank and other financial services accounts with the app.

We estimate that the company can grow its gross profit more than 30% and EBITDA more than 50% annually for the foreseeable future, and while most of the company’s current profit is from its Seller Business, we believe most of Square’s future value will be from its Cash App business.”

6. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59

Weight: 4.34%

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) is a video conferencing software provider based in California that ranks 6th on the list of 12 best ARK stocks to invest in. The company was founded in 2012 and has grown by 18% in the last year due to an increase in remote work setup globally. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) stock rose nearly 7% on August 4 as companies postponed plans for a return to the office.

According to the latest data from ARK Investment Management LLC, the hedge fund owned 2,832,685 shares of Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) worth $963 million as of August 25, 2021, accounting for 4.34% of the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK).

On July 18, Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) announced its $14.7 billion acquisition of California-based cloud contact center Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN) as a move to diversify outside video conferencing. On August 17, Piper Sandler analyst James Fish maintained an Overweight rating on Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) with a price target of $464 per share.

The company has a market cap of $99.25 billion. In the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022, Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) reported an EPS of $1.32. The company’s first-quarter revenue grew 191% year over year to $956.2 billion and beat revenue estimates by $48.06 million. Shares of Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) climbed 6.23% in the past three months.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 59 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $8.48 billion in Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), up from 54 in the preceding quarter worth $5.67 billion.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners mentioned Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:

“We concluded our campaigns in Zoom Video Communications. We have been paring our position in Zoom for several quarters, anticipating the reduced need for video conferencing as vaccination rates climb and people return to their workplaces. That said, we believe there is a strong case to be made that the pandemic has prompted a permanent inflection in videoconferencing’s importance—sustainably higher remote work arrangements, more online learning, and less business travel. Furthermore, the company’s dramatically expanded user base (up 485% YoY in Q3) positions it well to cross-sell additional services, Zoom Phone in particular. The long-term future remains bright, but we decided to end our successful investment campaign in favor of opportunities in our pipeline with more attractive near-term growth prospects.”

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Best ARK Stocks to Invest In.