The long view: Cathie Wood’s ARK nabs 1m Twitter shares as Dorsey steps down
Cathie Wood, the well-known U.S. investor and founder of ARK Investment Management, loaded up on 1m Twitter shares on Tuesday as the social media giant’s stocks hit a 12-month low in the wake of founder Jack Dorsey’s decision to step down as CEO.
AEK Investment Management, which already has one of the biggest shareholdings in Twitter, acquired 1.1m shares on Tuesday in what made up its biggest one-day spree on the microblogging platform’s stock since late July.
Twitter’s stock had closed down 2.7 per cent on Monday, after the company named its chief technology officer Parag Agrawal as its new CEO, with immediate effect.
On Tuesday, the social media firm’s stock dropped 4 per cent to close at its lowest level since November 2020.
This prompted Wood’s firm to seize the opportunity and nab 1.1 million Twitter shares worth $48.9m at the day’s closing price of $43.94, the firm’s daily trade report revealed.
Agrawal has a significant job on his hands as he steps into the driving seat at Twitter, after the company ramped up its product innovation and business goals in the last year to fend off competition from social media rivals Facebook and Tik Tok.
Earlier this year, the company said it aimed to have 315m daily active users by the end of 2023, and was aiming for double annual revenue that year.
“We recently updated our strategy to hit ambitious goals, and I believe that strategy to be bold and right,” Agrawal wrote in an email to employees on Monday when he assumed the post.
“But our critical challenge is how we work to execute against it and deliver results – that’s how we’ll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, shareholders, and for each of you.”
Founded in 2006, Twitter has grown from being nothing more than a micro-blogging site to one of the most visited websites ever, with more than 330m active monthly users.
Twitter’s influence grew considerably under Dorsey’s tenure, with the likes of previous US President Donald Trump being permanently banned from the platform after the storming of Congress in January.