ARK Invest Loads Up on Baidu Stock Following Post-Earnings Decline

TLDR

• ARK Invest acquired 97,597 Baidu (BIDU) shares worth $12.21 million, capitalizing on a 5.7% decline following the company’s earnings release
• Despite exceeding Q4 profit and revenue forecasts, Baidu experienced a 4% annual revenue decline primarily driven by advertising weakness
• ARK divested 25,175 BWX Technologies (BWXT) shares valued at $5.22 million, extending its recent selling pattern
• Additional ARK disposals included positions in PagerDuty (PD), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), Iridium (IRDM), Salesforce (CRM), and Butterfly Network (BFLY)
• Artificial intelligence-focused operations at Baidu contributed $1.61 billion during Q4, accounting for 43% of quarterly revenue

Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Invest executed a significant transaction on Thursday, February 26, accumulating shares of Chinese technology giant Baidu following a notable stock price retreat.

The firm acquired 97,597 Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares distributed across its ARKK, ARKQ, and ARKW portfolios. The aggregate investment totaled $12.21 million.

Baidu, Inc., BIDU

This strategic purchase followed a 5.7% decline in Baidu’s share price triggered by the release of its Q4 FY2025 financial results. While the company surpassed analyst projections for both earnings and revenue, market participants focused on the 4% contraction in year-over-year revenue.

The revenue shortfall stemmed primarily from continued challenges within Baidu’s traditional advertising segment, which has faced sustained headwinds. These difficulties overshadowed positive momentum in other business divisions.

ARK’s investment suggests confidence beyond the advertising sector’s struggles. CEO Robin Li emphasized robust expansion in AI cloud infrastructure alongside increasing corporate adoption of Baidu’s artificial intelligence solutions.

During the fourth quarter, Baidu’s AI-centric operations — encompassing cloud infrastructure, AI applications, and autonomous vehicle services — generated $1.61 billion in revenue. This represented 43% of the company’s quarterly total.

ARK Trims BWX Technologies and PagerDuty

Regarding divestments, ARK’s most substantial sale involved offloading 25,175 BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT) shares for $5.22 million. The nuclear components manufacturer has seen consistent position reductions by ARK throughout the week.

The investment firm additionally disposed of 307,843 PagerDuty (NYSE: PD) shares, generating approximately $2.18 million. Interestingly, PagerDuty stock appreciated 5% on the transaction date.

This PagerDuty divestment reflects ARK’s ongoing strategy to decrease exposure to the cloud software provider in recent weeks.

Further sales encompassed Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BEAM), Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM), Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), Pinterest (NYSE: PINS), and Butterfly Network (NYSE: BFLY).

Biotech Buys and Other Moves

ARK simultaneously purchased 482,407 ATAI Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) shares for approximately $1.79 million via its ARKG genomics-focused fund.

ATAI experienced a 14.1% decline that same trading session, despite announcing favorable Phase IIa clinical trial results for EMP-01, its experimental treatment targeting social anxiety disorder.

Market analysts acknowledged the scientific merit of the trial outcomes but suggested the data didn’t warrant the stock’s previous valuation increases.

ARK further acquired 4,836 Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares for $814,966 alongside 25,382 Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) shares valued at $1.87 million.

According to TipRanks, BIDU maintains a Strong Buy consensus rating derived from seven Buy recommendations and two Hold ratings. The consensus price target of $180.63 suggests potential upside of 44.3% from present trading levels.

BIDU stock has appreciated 41.8% throughout the past twelve months.

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