- Cathie Wood buys $12.9 million of tumbling tech stock
May 10, 2026
Cathie Wood, chief of Ark Investment Management, is known for making bold bets on fast-moving tech stocks. Sometimes her trades move just as quickly as the stocks themselves.
In the week that began on May 3, Wood sold millions of dollars worth of shares in one high-flying AI company near recent highs, only to turn around days later and buy back the stock after a sharp 11% drop.
In 2025, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period. So far this year, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) was up roughly 1.61%, trailing the S&P 500’s gain of more than 8%.
Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. 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 May 7, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -6.17%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 13.45% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.
Cathie Wood expects a “great acceleration” brought by tech developments
Wood focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She thinks these businesses have strong growth potential, though their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark’s funds.
According to Morningstar analyst Bella Albrecht, two of Wood’s Ark funds were among the worst-performing ETFs in the first quarter of 2026. The Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) ranked second on the list, while the ARK Innovation ETF placed fifth.In the 12 months through May 7, Wood's Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.32 billion in net outflows.Getty Images
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.
In a March 23 Bloomberg podcast, Wood says the global economy is not heading into a downturn, but into what she calls a “great acceleration” driven by AI and other breakthrough technologies.
“We’re not going into the Great Depression, we’re going into the great acceleration,” Wood said, pointing to how past technological revolutions reshaped economic growth.
Related: Cathie Wood buys $14.9 million of tumbling AI stock
She noted that global real GDP growth averaged just 0.6% between 1500 and 1900, before the Industrial Revolution lifted it to around 3% for more than a century. Now, she argues, a new wave of innovation could push growth much higher.
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“We think [technologies] are going to take growth into the 7 to 8% range,” Wood said, adding that the number may actually be conservative.
Wood also emphasized that AI is rapidly driving down costs across industries.
“These technologies are deflationary,” she said. “AI training costs are dropping 75% per year, and inference costs are falling as much as 85% to even 98% annually.”
In an earlier letter published in January, Wood rejects the “AI bubble” talk, saying it "is years away" and "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.
But not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. In the 12 months through May 7, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.32 billion in net outflows, with $252 million exiting the fund over the past month, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi.
Cathie Wood buys $12.9 million of CoreWeave stock
On May 8, Wood’s Ark funds bought 113,076 shares of CoreWeave (CRWV), according to Ark’s daily trade information. These shares are valued at about $12.9 million after the stock tumbled 11% to close at $114.15 that day.
Just days earlier, on May 4 and May 5, Wood had sold a total of 198,572 CoreWeave shares worth roughly $25 million at prices around $127 and $125 per share.
Related: Analysts turn heads with AMD stock forecast after massive rally
Shares of CoreWeave, the Nvidia-backed cloud infrastructure company, are up roughly 60% year-to-date, despite the recent price decline after earnings.
CoreWeave focuses on GPU-powered computing for AI and machine learning workloads. Its data centers run on Nvidia chips, and major customers include Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
On May 7, CoreWeave issued weaker-than-expected second-quarter revenue guidance, which caused a decline in the stock price the next day.
The company reported an adjusted loss of $1.12 per share, wider than analysts’ expectations for a 90-cent loss. Revenue came in at $2.08 billion, topping estimates of $1.97 billion and more than doubling from $981.8 million a year earlier.
For the second quarter, CoreWeave projected revenue of $2.45 billion to $2.6 billion. The midpoint of that range fell below Wall Street estimates of $2.69 billion, according to CNBC. The company maintained its full-year 2026 revenue outlook of $12 billion to $13 billion.
CoreWeave's CEO, Mike Intrator, said on the earnings call that the company has now reached “hyperscale.”
"We have reached hyperscale with more than 3.5 gigawatts of contracted power, up more than 400 megawatts this quarter alone, with the substantial majority expected to be online by the end of 2027," he said.
"Our core customers, historically hyperscalers and foundation labs are deepening their commitment to us while an entirely new wave of enterprises are arriving and demanding access to CoreWeave's platform at scale."
After the earnings report, Bank of America reiterated a buy rating and $140 price target on CoreWeave stock. Analysts said the weaker near-term guidance was mainly tied to the timing of new data center capacity coming online, while revenue growth is still expected to accelerate sharply in the second half of 2026.
"We expect operating margin to improve sequentially throughout 2026, reaching 8% for FY26, driven by the progress in capacity coming online," the analysts wrote in a research note sent to TheStreet.
The analysts said CoreWeave continues to add active power capacity and is growing its backlog by roughly $30 billion from the prior quarter, with inferencing accounting for more than half of CoreWeave's compute usage, "which speaks to the visibility and longevity of its revenues," the analysts said.
Fund manager buys and sells
Cathie Wood buys $2.5 million of tumbling megacap stock Warren Buffett dumped 77% of Amazon to buy surging media stock Cathie Wood buys $11 million of tumbling megacap tech stock
"We expect inferencing to continue to be the primary source of evolving demand, as evidenced by Anthropic's impressive ARR growth," Bank of America added.
CoreWeave is not in the top 10 holdings of Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF.
Top 10 holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF as of May 8, 2026:
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) 10.18% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) 5.28% CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) 4.83% Tempus AI Inc. (TEM) 4.82% Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL) 4.64% Roku Inc. (ROKU) 4.56% Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) 4.36% Shopify Inc. (SHOP) 4.31% Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) 4.21% Beam Therapeutics Inc. (BEAM) 3.08%
Other than buying shares of CoreWeave (CRWV), Cathie Wood’s recent trading activity included purchases of Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS), Kodiak AI (KDK), Toast (TOST), Cloudflare (NET), Absci (ABSI), and X-Energy (XE), while selling Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Twist Bioscience (TWST), Aurora Innovation (AUR), Teradyne (TER), and Rocket Lab (RKLB).
Related: Dave Ramsey, AARP warn Americans on IRAs, Roth IRAs
This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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- Absci Corporation (ABSI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
May 8, 2026 · seekingalpha.com
Absci Corporation (ABSI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Absci Corporation (ABSI) Reports Q1 Loss, Misses Revenue Estimates
May 7, 2026 · zacks.com
Absci Corporation (ABSI) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.19 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.2. This compares to a loss of $0.21 per share a year ago.
- Absci Reports Business Updates and First Quarter 2026 Financial and Operating Results
May 7, 2026 · globenewswire.com
Successfully dosed all four planned healthy volunteer SAD cohorts of ongoing ABS-201™ HEADLINE trial; well-tolerated with favorable emerging safety data Preliminary pharmacokinetic (PK) modeling from HEADLINE trial supports ABS-201's targeted dosing interval Initiated dosing of first MAD cohort of AGA participants of ongoing ABS-201™ HEADLINE trial Expanding prolactin program portfolio with addition of ABS-202 to internal pipeline VANCOUVER, Wash. and NEW YORK, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing breakthrough therapeutics designed with generative AI, today reported financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
- ABSCI REPORTS BUSINESS UPDATES AND FIRST QUARTER 2026 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS
May 7, 2026
SUCCESSFULLY DOSED ALL FOUR PLANNED HEALTHY VOLUNTEER SAD COHORTS OF ONGOING ABS-201™ HEADLINE TRIAL; WELL-TOLERATED WITH FAVORABLE EMERGING SAFETY DATA PRELIMINARY PHARMACOKINETIC (PK) MODELING FROM HEADLINE TRIAL SUPPORTS ABS-201'S TARGETED DOSING INTERVAL INITIATED DOSING OF FIRST MAD COHORT OF AGA PARTICIPANTS OF ONGOING ABS-201™ HEADLINE TRIAL EXPANDING PROLACTIN PROGRAM PORTFOLIO WITH ADDITION OF ABS-202 TO INTERNAL PIPELINE VANCOUVER, WASH. AND NEW YORK, MAY 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ABSCI CORPORATION (NASDAQ: ABSI), A CLINICAL-STAGE BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY ADVANCING BREAKTHROUGH THERAPEUTICS DESIGNED WITH GENERATIVE AI, TODAY REPORTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2026.
- Absci Announces Inducement Grant Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)
May 5, 2026
VANCOUVER, Wash. and NEW YORK, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing breakthrough therapeutics designed with generative AI, today announced that on May 1, 2026, the company granted a non-statutory stock option to purchase an aggregate of 276,200 shares of its common stock to one newly-hired non-executive employee. The inducement grant was previously approved by the Compensation Committee of Absci’s Board of Directors pursuant to Absci’s 2023 Inducement Plan (the “Inducement Plan”), and is being made as an inducement material to the new employee’s acceptance of employment with the company in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
The stock option award has an exercise price of $4.92 per share, the closing price of Absci’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on May 1, 2026 the (“Grant Date”). The stock option has a 10-year term and vests over four years, and 25% of the shares subject to the option vest and become exercisable on the one-year anniversary of the Grant Date and the remaining 75% of the shares subject to the option vest and become exercisable in 36 approximately equal monthly installments thereafter such that the shares underlying the option granted to the new employee will be fully vested on the fourth anniversary of the Grant Date, subject to the new employee’s continued service with Absci on each such date (subject to the terms and conditions of the Inducement Plan and the option award agreement covering the grant).
About Absci
Absci is advancing the future of drug discovery with generative design to create better biologics for patients, faster. Our Integrated Drug Creation™ platform combines cutting-edge AI models with a synthetic biology data engine, enabling the rapid design of innovative therapeutics that address challenging therapeutic targets. Absci’s approach leverages a continuous feedback loop between advanced AI algorithms and wet lab validation. Each cycle refines our data and strengthens our models, facilitating rapid innovation and enhancing the precision of our therapeutic designs. Alongside collaborations with top pharmaceutical, biotech, tech, and academic leaders, Absci is advancing its own pipeline of AI designed therapeutics including ABS-201™, a groundbreaking innovation in hair regrowth with the potential to redefine treatment possibilities for androgenetic alopecia, commonly known as male and female pattern hair-loss. ABS-201 is also being investigated as a potential “best-in-class” therapeutic for endometriosis, a condition with significant unmet medical need and market potential. Absci is headquartered in Vancouver, WA, with AI Research Labs in New York City and Serbia, and an Innovation Center in Switzerland. Learn more at www.absci.com or follow us on LinkedIn (@absci), X (@Abscibio) and YouTube.
Absci® standard character mark, ABS-201™, and Integrated Drug Creation™ are trademarks and registered trademarks of Absci Corporation.
Investor Contact
Alexander D.H. Khan
Corporate Vice President
Head of Investor Relations
investors@absci.com
Media Contact
press@absci.com
- Absci Announces Inducement Grant Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)
May 4, 2026 · globenewswire.com
VANCOUVER, Wash. and NEW YORK, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing breakthrough therapeutics designed with generative AI, today announced that on May 1, 2026, the company granted a non-statutory stock option to purchase an aggregate of 276,200 shares of its common stock to one newly-hired non-executive employee. The inducement grant was previously approved by the Compensation Committee of Absci's Board of Directors pursuant to Absci's 2023 Inducement Plan (the “Inducement Plan”), and is being made as an inducement material to the new employee's acceptance of employment with the company in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
- ABSCI ANNOUNCES INDUCEMENT GRANT UNDER NASDAQ LISTING RULE 5635(C)(4)
May 4, 2026
VANCOUVER, WASH. AND NEW YORK, MAY 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ABSCI CORPORATION (NASDAQ: ABSI), A CLINICAL-STAGE BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY ADVANCING BREAKTHROUGH THERAPEUTICS DESIGNED WITH GENERATIVE AI, TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT ON MAY 1, 2026, THE COMPANY GRANTED A NON-STATUTORY STOCK OPTION TO PURCHASE AN AGGREGATE OF 276,200 SHARES OF ITS COMMON STOCK TO ONE NEWLY-HIRED NON-EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEE. THE INDUCEMENT GRANT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF ABSCI'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS PURSUANT TO ABSCI'S 2023 INDUCEMENT PLAN (THE “INDUCEMENT PLAN”), AND IS BEING MADE AS AN INDUCEMENT MATERIAL TO THE NEW EMPLOYEE'S ACCEPTANCE OF EMPLOYMENT WITH THE COMPANY IN ACCORDANCE WITH NASDAQ LISTING RULE 5635(C)(4).
- Here is Why Absci Corp. (ABSI) is One of the Best Biotech Penny Stocks to Buy in 2026
May 1, 2026
Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI) is one of the best biotech penny stocks to buy in 2026. On March 24, Absci reported Q4 and the full-year 2025 financial results, highlighting significant progress in its internal pipeline of AI-designed therapeutics. The company dosed the first three cohorts in its HEADLINE Phase 1/2a trial for ABS-201, a novel anti-PRLR antibody targeting androgenetic alopecia. Emerging data indicates the treatment is well-tolerated, and recent ex vivo studies suggest ABS-201 can stimulate hair growth by regenerating the follicle stem cell niche.
Absci expects to release preliminary safety and pharmacokinetic data in H1 2026, followed by interim proof-of-concept results in H2. The company is also diversifying the application of ABS-201 by preparing to initiate a Phase 2 trial for endometriosis in the fourth quarter of 2026. This expansion targets a significant unmet need for non-sex steroid hormone treatments in a market affecting millions of women.Here is Why Absci Corp. (ABSI) is One of the Best Biotech Penny Stocks to Buy in 2026
Financially, Absci reported a full-year net loss of $115.2 million for 2025, with R&D expenses rising to $81.4 million as internal programs moved toward the clinic. Despite the increase in spending, the company maintains a solid balance sheet with $144.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of December 31. Management noted that this capital is sufficient to fund operations into H1 2028. Looking forward, Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI) anticipates signing at least one major drug creation partnership with a large pharmaceutical company during 2026.
Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI) develops several antibody therapeutics.
While we acknowledge the potential of ABSI as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and Cathie Wood 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy.
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- Absci Corp. (ABSI) Offering Impressive Upside to Potential Investors
Apr 26, 2026
Absci Corp. (NASDAQ:ABSI) is one of the 10 most shorted penny stocks to buy.
As of the April 23 closing, the stock carries a strongly bullish consensus sentiment. Of the 7 analysts who provided coverage, 6 assigned Buy ratings and 1 gave a Hold call. It has a median 1-year target price of $7.64, leading to an upside of more than 92% at the current level. Such consensus views make for a highly compelling story around this penny stock, which has faced significant short interest recently.
everything possible/Shutterstock.com
Back on March 24, Absci Corp. (NASDAQ:ABSI) announced an advisory board on endometriosis to help with clinical research in ABS-201, which is their anti-prolactin receptor antibody drug program. These include experts from Yale, Duke, UCSF, and the Mayo Clinic, who will provide insights for the development of this novel antibody treatment.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects about 190 million people across the world. The current therapies available are hormonal therapies, and unfortunately, they do not treat the actual disease itself. With this anti-prolactin antibody, there could be an end to this disorder without affecting one’s ovulation and fertility, since this therapy will target a different pathway.
In an interview, the founder and CEO of Absci, Sean McClain, mentioned that current approved therapies utilize hormone suppression, leaving the patient to choose between either managing her disease or her ability to conceive a child. But ABS-201 treats patients differently from the usual approach. The company is working towards starting its Phase 2 trials by the fourth quarter of 2026, with interim data expected in the second half of 2027.
Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI) is engaged in the development of several antibody therapeutics. It offers four different types of therapeutics, which include ABS-101, which is in phase 1 of the clinical trial, ABS-201, which is in phase 1/2a clinical trial, ABS-301, and ABS-501. It has partnership agreements with various organizations, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Oracle Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Twist Bioscience, and others.
While we acknowledge the potential of ABSI as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years.
Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
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