Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Buys More Alibaba, Intellia Therapeutics, and Baidu
Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of Ark Invest, continues to make waves in the investment world. On Monday, Ark Invest added to its existing positions in three key companies: Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA), and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU). These moves signal Wood's continued confidence in these high-growth stocks.
Alibaba: E-commerce Giant and AI Player
Alibaba has experienced a remarkable resurgence, with its stock more than doubling this year. Despite slowing growth, the e-commerce pioneer has become an investor favorite. Its strong performance can be attributed to a low starting valuation, making it an attractive option even after its significant surge.
Alibaba's financial strength is evident in its flagship domestic e-commerce business, which accounts for a significant portion of its consolidated adjusted EBITDA. This core business allows the company to invest in other ventures like streaming services, cloud hosting, and artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Wall Street analysts are also taking note, with major firms boosting their price targets, citing the fast-growing revenue of Alibaba's AI cloud business.
Intellia Therapeutics: Gene-Editing Pioneer
Intellia Therapeutics, a gene-editing company focused on CRISPR-based therapies, has also captured Cathie Wood's attention. The company's shares have nearly tripled since April, driven by progress in its clinical phase trials for treating devastating genetic disorders. Despite its gains, analysts believe that Intellia still has significant upside potential if it achieves a successful outcome in its trials.
Intellia's enterprise value is also attractive. An analyst at H.C. Wainwright recently boosted his price target to $30, encouraged by the enrollment progress for a one-time therapy in its final phase of trials. This target is nearly double the current stock price.
Baidu: China's Search Engine and AI Innovator
Baidu, the company behind China's leading search engine, is another Chinese stock gaining momentum. While its rise has been more recent, the market is increasingly viewing Baidu as a potential beneficiary of the trade war, as export restrictions on high-end AI chips encourage the development of homegrown solutions. Like Alibaba, the bets on spearheading the domestic AI revolution are a bonus, while the original online business of search and advertising continues to pay the bills.
Baidu can be had for a mere 12 times trailing earnings. The company was dabbling in AI and machine learning before those terms were popular investing themes.
