In this article, we discuss the 5 hedge funds that are betting against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these hedge funds, go directly to 10 Hedge Funds Betting Against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
5. Pura Vida Investments
Pura Vida Investments is a New York-based hedge fund led by Efrem Kamen with a portfolio value of more than $3.2 billion. Securities filings reveal that the fund owned PUT options against 600,000 shares of ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) at the end of June 2021 worth $78 million, representing 2.48% of the portfolio. It is ranked fifth on our list of 10 hedge funds betting against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
One of the top holdings of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB), a biotech firm focusing on genetic analysis. Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm ARK Investment Management is a leading shareholder in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) with 20 million shares worth more than $716 million.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. provides long-read DNA sequencing systems to scientists conducting genetic analysis. Shares performed well for the quarter. We believe there is increasing excitement about the potential for its platform to move beyond research into clinical applications. The recently appointed CEO was previously Chief Commercial Officer at Illumina, and we think he is well qualified to commercially execute on Pacific Biosciences’ differentiated long-read platform.”
4. GoldenTree Asset Management
GoldenTree Asset Management is a New York-based hedge fund led by Steven Tananbaum with a portfolio value of over $3.7 billion. Securities filings show that the fund owned PUT options against 1 million shares of ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) at the end of the second quarter of 2021 worth $102 million, representing 2.72% of the portfolio. It is placed fourth on our list of 10 hedge funds that are betting against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Steven Tananbaum of GoldenTree Asset Management
One of the biggest holdings of GoldenTree Asset Management is Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), a media and tech firm based in Pennsylvania. Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based firm Eagle Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) with 29 million shares worth more than $1.7 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Nelson Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Comcast is the Largest cable provider in the U.S. and is the dominant internet access provider in the markets it serves. Though Comcast will likely see further declines in cable subscriptions due to ongoing cord-cutting, it should be able to off set that lost revenue by growing internet access customers and instituting higher pricing. The pandemic has increased the importance of a fast internet connection, with more content streaming to homes at increasingly higher quality. Comcast made significant upgrades early on, allowing it to quickly deploy new technology and increase speeds to meet the evolving needs of its customers.”
3. Moore Global Investments
Moore Global Investments is a New York-based hedge fund led by Louis Bacon with a portfolio value of more than $7 billion. Regulatory filings show that the fund owned PUT options against 800,000 shares of ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) at the end of the second quarter of 2021 worth more than $104 million, representing 1.48% of the portfolio. It is ranked third on our list of 10 hedge funds that are betting against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Louis Bacon Moore of Moore Capital
Moore Global Investments holds a large stake in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), the California-based firm that owns and runs social media platforms. At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 266 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $42 billion in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), up from 257 in the preceding quarter worth $40 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We continued to keep our learnings from 2020 in mind during the quarter as we sought to increase the up capture of the portfolio. We also made adjustments to the portfolio’s top 10 holdings to increase the participation of select stocks, including Facebook, while trimming our weighting to stable names, which now represent 47% of the portfolio. Our repositioning has been encouraging so far with the portfolio performing better on up days in the market while maintaining good down capture during more turbulent sessions.”
2. Taconic Capital
Taconic Capital is a New York-based hedge fund led by Frank Brosens with a portfolio value of more than $3 billion. Latest filings show that the fund owned PUT options against 910,000 shares of ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) at the end of the second quarter of 2021 worth $119 million, representing 3.77% of the portfolio. It is placed second on our list of 10 hedge funds that are betting against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Frank Brosens of Taconic Capital
Taconic Capital has invested heavily in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), a California-based mass media and entertainment firm. At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 112 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.8 billion in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), down from 134 in the preceding quarter worth $12.5 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Harding Loevner, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“One of the original constituents of the Nifty Fifty holds a place in our portfolio today. When we bought Disney three years ago, we wrote that “we view Disney theme parks in the US, Europe, and China as resistant to online substitution.” We did not reckon on a pandemic, which closed all of them, and sent all of us to our couches. Disney, however, was ready for us, brilliantly illustrating the importance of management foresight and change management. Or, as Louis Pasteur said, “chance favors the prepared mind.
A century after its founding in 1923, Disney is in the middle of a bold shift from its legacy media networks & entertainment model—with cable TV, theme parks, and theater films dominating its earnings—to a direct-to-consumer streaming media model. The keys to Disney’s transition: matchless storytelling, coupled with financial strength. The company reliably creates content that people all over the world are eager to consume. It also hastened spending on original content to attract subscribers to its new streaming platform. These factors have allowed Disney to weather the pandemic having expanded its direct engagement with customers. Such connections yield a rich harvest of insights used to customize offerings on a mass scale, reinforcing that engagement in a virtuous circle and thereby raising the lifetime value of each customer. Subscribers to Disney+ reached 86.8 million one year after launch, compared to the 60 – 90 million management projected to reach in 2024. To be sure, Netflix, Apple, and Amazon remain formidable competitors in new-era streaming entertainment (mind what we said about everyone standing up at once), but there’s fight left in this old dog.”
1. Laurion Capital Management
Laurion Capital Management is a New York-based hedge fund led by Benjamin Smith with a portfolio value of more than $18 billion. Latest data reveals that the fund owned PUT options against 1.3 million shares of ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) at the end of June 2021 worth $171 million, representing 0.95% of the portfolio. It is ranked first on our list of 10 hedge funds that are betting against Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
A top holding of Laurion Capital Management is JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD), a retail infrastructure provider based in China. Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management LLC is a leading shareholder in JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) with 51.5 million shares worth more than $4.1 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Arisaig Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Our largest holding as a firm, JD.com, we expect to grow earnings at an annualised rate of 30% over the next five years, implying it will trade on an EV / EBITDA of 7.5x at the end of this period. Is this a growth stock or a value stock? Does anyone care? Do these labels really matter?
For the Asia Fund, with a higher pre-existing allocation to our core FMCG holdings coming into the year, we took advantage of capital market volatility to further concentrate on our highest conviction names. JD.com has been the main destination for our limited reallocations as evidence continues to emerge supporting our thesis that the company has a strong right-to-win in the large and highly fragmented USD1.8th Chinese grocery market. We have also been encouraged by the fact that after years of persistence, the company is beginning to engage with us on ESG issues (we have specifically discussed data protection, climate change and the circular economy). ESG is now being considered at the board level, and specific sustainability reporting should follow in the coming months. Having long displayed a healthy obsession with customer service, we interpret these latest conversations as a sign that JD is beginning to develop a more sophisticated understanding of its impact on all stakeholders.”
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