ARK buys the Robinhood dip it was selling three weeks ago

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest bought about $9.1 million of Robinhood (HOOD) stock on Wednesday, Oct. 28 — its largest purchase of the shares since late April — after a selloff that has knocked the stock down more than 23% over the past month, according to CoinDesk, citing trade data shared by ARK's trading desk.

ARK added 99,418 shares across three of its ETFs: the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), per the same trade data. It was the firm's first HOOD purchase since Sept. 8. CoinDesk valued the buy using Wednesday's closing price of $91.43; the stock fell 3.3% that day.

The purchase runs directly against ARK's own recent trading. From Oct. 6 through Oct. 9, when HOOD closed between roughly $107 and $112, ARK sold about $47.5 million of the stock, CoinDesk reported. Wednesday's buy reversed that direction at a materially lower price.

The move followed Robinhood's third-quarter earnings. Crypto transaction revenue fell 55% year-over-year to $120 million, and crypto trading volume dropped 38% to $50 billion, according to the company's report as relayed by CoinDesk. Prediction markets brought in $173 million — more than six times the year-earlier figure, and more than Robinhood's crypto trading business. Options revenue rose 31% to $399 million, helping the firm post record total revenue of $1.42 billion, up 12%. Even so, revenue came in just below analyst estimates, earnings per share of $0.51 missed the $0.55 consensus, and net income fell 14% to $476 million.

Key facts

• ARK bought ~$9.1M of HOOD on Oct. 28, adding 99,418 shares across ARKK, ARKW and ARKF — largest HOOD buy since ~$39M on April 29 (CoinDesk, citing ARK trade data).
• ARK sold ~$47.5M of HOOD Oct. 6–9 at ~$107–$112 (CoinDesk).
• HOOD closed at $91.43 Wednesday, down 3.3%; off more than 23% over one month; down a further ~1.88% to $89.70 in premarket (CoinDesk).
• Q3: crypto revenue −55% to $120M; crypto volume −38% to $50B; prediction markets $173M; options +399M (+31%); total revenue $1.42B (+12%); EPS $0.51 vs $0.55 est.; net income $476M (−14%) (Robinhood Q3 report, via CoinDesk).

The real-world read

The headline writes itself as "Wood buys the dip," but the sharper fact is that ARK sold about five times as much HOOD three weeks earlier, near the highs, then bought a fraction of it back near the lows. On the figures here, that's buying high and selling low in the wrong order — not a conviction bet. A $9.1 million purchase across three funds is also small relative to the $47.5 million it just unwound. Note too what's carrying Robinhood now: prediction markets ($173M) and options ($399M), not crypto, whose revenue more than halved. The crypto-brokerage story is increasingly a crypto-adjacent one.

All figures here trace to CoinDesk, a secondary source; the underlying Q3 numbers are Robinhood's own, and the trade data comes from ARK's desk — an interested party reporting its own activity.

Not financial advice.