ARK Innovation ETF Is on the Move: What Does This Mean for Sectoral Themes?

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HFA Staff
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The year 2023 has ended. And with the ETF space buzzing in anticipation of much-hyped Bitcoin players, it’s time to shift focus to the more legacy investment options in ARK Innovation ETF (NYMARKET:ARKK) — a fund overseen by Cathie Wood and managed by ARK Invest. ARKK, as of December 22, 2023, is up 67.7% year-to-date, following it with an 82.20% one-year daily total return. Despite the power-packed 2023, going blind into ARKK might not be the best option. Notably, the fund boasts a negative — -25.44% daily total return across the three years.

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According to Trading.biz analyst Rahul Nambiampurath, ARKK’s move to glory is led by the rebound in Growth and Tech stocks.

“Positive developments in the portfolio companies and a changing market sentiment favoring innovation-driven investing have propelled the ARKK valuations,” mentions Rahul.

ARKK has bested the S&P 500 Index, up 22.4% year-on-year. At press time, ARKK was trading at $54.26, already up to $53.99 in Thursday’s pre-market session. Also, the 1-day chart of the ARK Innovation ETF reveals several interesting elements.

Pattern-wise, ARKK is trading inside an ascending triangle, which works as a bullish continuation pattern, provided the volume’s support. If ARKK breaches the upper trendline and continues the surge, the $58.69 level could be a target in the short-to-mid-term.

ARK Innovation ETF

And while the pattern is supportive, the dipping RSI, courtesy of the bearish divergence, hints at a sell action.

As for the portfolio holdings, the ARKK basket comprises the following critical players as of December 26, 2023, post the last rebalancing act:

  • Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN): 11.43%
  • Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA): 7.56%
  • UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH): 7.14%
  • Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU): 6.88%
  • Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM): 6.77%
  • Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ): 6.48%

And more.

What Does ARKK’s Growth Mean for the Investors?

Interestingly, as highlighted by analyst Rahul Nambiampurath, ARKK’s success in 2023 could be a prospective amplification of sectoral themes. For instance, with investments in Biotechnology firms like CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP), Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS), and more, followed by Tech and AI investment in Palantir, UiPath, COIN, and more — 2024 could be the year for the more celebrated sectors.

ARKK or FBCG?

ARKK’s lead, in terms of YTD growth, over other ETFs like the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth (BATS:FBCG) — which is up 57.3% YTD at press time, shows how the markets are leaning more towards disruptive technologies as compared to the blue-chip bias for stocks like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, and more.

Yet, as an investor, the expense ratio comes into focus, which is a tad higher for ARKK at 0.75% compared to FBCG, which is set to 0.59%. While short-term investors couldn’t tell the difference, this factor can tilt in favor of FBCG for long-term investments. Therefore, sectoral themes with a disruptive focus might have to do much more to stay on par with the large-cap players.

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The post above is drafted by the collaboration of the Hedge Fund Alpha Team.