TLDR
- ARK Invest acquired 97,597 shares of Baidu (BIDU) valued at $12.21 million, capitalizing on a 5.7% post-earnings decline
- Despite exceeding Q4 earnings and revenue forecasts, Baidu experienced a 4% annual revenue contraction driven by advertising softness
- ARK divested 25,175 shares of BWX Technologies (BWXT) worth $5.22 million, extending its position reduction strategy
- Additional sell-offs included PagerDuty (PD), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), Iridium (IRDM), Salesforce (CRM), and Butterfly Network (BFLY)
- AI-focused business segments at Baidu produced $1.61 billion in Q4 revenue, comprising 43% of the company’s total intake
Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Invest executed a substantial transaction on Thursday, February 26, seizing on weakness in Chinese technology giant Baidu’s stock price.
The firm accumulated 97,597 shares of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) distributed across its ARKK, ARKQ, and ARKW portfolios. The aggregate investment totaled $12.21 million.
This strategic acquisition followed a 5.7% decline in Baidu’s share price triggered by its Q4 FY2025 financial results. While the company surpassed analyst projections for both earnings and revenue, market participants focused on the 4% year-over-year contraction in overall revenue.
The revenue shortfall stemmed primarily from continued challenges in Baidu’s traditional advertising segment, which has faced persistent headwinds. These losses counterbalanced positive momentum in other business divisions.
ARK’s investment thesis appears focused beyond the advertising struggles. Chief Executive Robin Li emphasized robust expansion in AI cloud infrastructure alongside increasing enterprise adoption of Baidu’s artificial intelligence solutions.
During Q4, Baidu’s AI-centric operations — encompassing cloud infrastructure services, AI applications, and autonomous taxi services — generated $1.61 billion in revenue. This represented 43% of the company’s quarterly revenue total.
ARK Reduces Holdings in BWX Technologies and PagerDuty
Regarding divestments, ARK’s most significant transaction involved offloading 25,175 shares of nuclear component manufacturer BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT) for $5.22 million. This move extends a consistent trend of ARK trimming its BWXT stake observed throughout the week.
The firm additionally disposed of 307,843 shares of cloud-based software provider PagerDuty (NYSE: PD) for approximately $2.18 million. Interestingly, PD stock appreciated 5% on the day ARK executed the sale.
The PagerDuty divestment fits within ARK’s broader strategy of systematically decreasing its exposure to this holding in recent weeks.
Additional portfolio reductions included Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BEAM), Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM), Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), Pinterest (NYSE: PINS), and Butterfly Network (NYSE: BFLY).
Biotech Acquisitions and Additional Portfolio Adjustments
ARK simultaneously purchased 482,407 shares of biotechnology company ATAI Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) valued at approximately $1.79 million through its ARKG fund.
ATAI’s stock price had declined 14.1% that same trading session, despite the company announcing favorable Phase IIa clinical trial outcomes for EMP-01, its experimental treatment for social anxiety disorder.
Industry analysts characterized the clinical results as scientifically promising but insufficient to support ATAI’s previous valuation increases.
ARK also acquired 4,836 shares of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) for $814,966 and 25,382 shares of Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) for $1.87 million.
According to TipRanks, BIDU maintains a Strong Buy consensus rating derived from seven Buy recommendations and two Hold ratings. The average analyst price target of $180.63 suggests potential upside of 44.3% from present trading levels.
BIDU shares have appreciated 41.8% over the trailing twelve-month period.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
