ARK Invest Sells $109.6 Million in Circle Shares Amid Stocks 20% Gain

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has continued its trend of selling Circle shares, with the latest transaction involving the sale of 415,844 shares on Monday. This sale, valued at approximately $109.6 million, follows a previous dump of Circle shares, totaling nearly 1.25 million shares last week. The latest sale brings the total value of Circle shares sold by ARK Invest to around $353 million. Despite the significant sell-off, Circle's stock price has shown resilience, jumping by 20% in recent trading sessions. This price increase suggests that the market remains bullish on Circle's prospects, despite the large-scale selling by ARK Invest. The reasons behind ARK Invest's decision to sell Circle shares are not explicitly stated, but it is clear that the investment firm is adjusting its portfolio to reflect its evolving investment strategy.

ARK’s latest sale involved transactions from the three holding funds, including the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). ARKK, the largest ARK fund with assets under management (AUM) of $5.6 billion, sold 306,921 Circle shares on Monday and still holds about 1.7 million shares, accounting for roughly 6.8% of the fund’s total assets. The two other funds, ARKW and ARKF, offloaded 72,302 shares and 36,621 shares, respectively, resulting in holdings of 625,645 shares and 369,128 shares, or 994,773 CRCL shares combined. All three funds together held 2.6 million Circle shares after the new sale, valued at around $69.9 million based on the CRCL closing price of $263.4 on Monday.

ARK’s latest CRCL sale came amid the ongoing meteoric rise of Circle shares, with the stock briefly topping at $299 on Monday. The notable appreciation of Circle shares led to a surge in its market capitalization, as it inched closer to the market value of Circle’s flagship product, the USDC (USDC) stablecoin. According to CompaniesMarketCap data, Circle Internet Group is now the 324th largest public company worldwide, with a market capitalization of $63.9 billion. At the same time, other sources estimate Circle’s market cap at roughly $60 billion, suggesting that the company has yet to beat USDC’s current market value of $61.7 billion.

In addition to selling Circle shares, ARK Invest has also been active in acquiring shares of other companies in the technology and financial sectors. Notably, the firm has increased its holdings in Robinhood and Coinbase, indicating a continued interest in the fintech and cryptocurrency industries. The sale of Circle shares by ARK Invest is a significant development in the investment landscape, as Cathie Wood is known for her aggressive and forward-thinking investment strategies. The decision to sell Circle shares, despite the company's strong market performance, suggests that ARK Invest may be re-evaluating its position in the cryptocurrency market.