The ARK Invest Chief Executive Officer (CEO) gained a massive following in 2020 after all six of her exchange traded funds (ETFs) saw returns above 100%. Since then, Wood has been hailed as a star stock picker for her well-justified high risk/high reward plays.
Four years later, Wood is still going strong and appealing to investors with her belief in disruptive technologies and contrarian positions in turbulent markets. Wood has often stressed the long-term potential of her ETFs with many of her investments leaning toward growth stocks. And with her stock picks rarely conservative, she has demonstrated a strong track record of investing in long-term winners.
So, it’s unsurprising that many of Wood’s top choices have received a strong buy rating from several analysts. Let’s delve in.
Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NTLA)
Cathie Wood doesn’t shy away from biotech stocks, as evidenced in her strong position in Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA). The company specializes in gene therapy and has ongoing clinical trials to treat rare illnesses.
Also, the company’s financials are promising. In its last quarter, Intellia Therapeutics Inc. reported $28.9 million collaborative revenue, up from $12.6 million a year ago. In addition, it maintains a strong liquid position with nearly $1 billion in cash equivalents and marketable securities.
However, the biotech firm’s biggest catalyst is its partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN). As per the agreement Regeneron will take on 25% of the total costs and profits. This will prove lucrative for NTLA once its gene therapy goes to market.
Hence, it’s unsurprising that Cathie Wood and other prominent investors are bullish on Intellia Therapeutics Inc. stock. Ark Invest has consistently added to its NTLA holdings and has an 8% stake in the company. Her shares make up 3% of Ark’s portfolio. Analysts seem to mirror these bullish sentiments, giving the stock a strong buy rating and a price target of $64.7.
Rocket Lab (RKLB)
With space stocks, the opportunity for innovation is virtually limitless. And while SpaceX remains the undefeated leader, the aerospace manufacturer, Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) is definitely making its mark. The company is on track to launch its rocket Neutron this year, which is a competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
Rocket Lab’s financials are not too shabby either. In its previous quarter, the company reported a 69% increase in revenue year-over-year (YOY) at $92.7 million and $365.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. The highlight of the earnings report was the strong guidance.
Additionally, Rocket Lab signed a lucrative agreement with the U.S. Space Forces Space Systems Command and plans to make progress on this contract this year. And, the company closed the quarter with over $1 billion in its backlog- signaling strong revenue growth. Thus, Q2 revenue is expected to be in the $105 million to $110 million range.
Therefore, given the optimistic outlook for Rocket Lab, Cathie Wood was quick to purchase 1.5 million shares in the company in Q1. It brought her total investment in the company to $26 million. The analyst consensus on this stock a strong buy with a projected price of $6.7.
Meta Platforms (META)
After predicting that the next big artificial intelligence (AI) opportunity is in software companies, Wood’s sentiment was bullish enough to snap up shares in major tech giants. One of her more notable investments was in Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), investing billions of dollars in its AI services. Ark Invest currently holds 2.13% ownership stake in the company.
Moreover, META was quick to jump on the AI bandwagon with the launch of Meta AI. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, AI will be instrumental in improving its core offering. Keeping with this theme, Meta Platforms invests heavily in several AI initiatives. And, it recently launched its AI assistant, Llama 3. The company hopes to keep this momentum going and increase its expected AI capital expenditure to $40 billion.
Although Meta’s AI investment might take a while to generate returns, analysts still rate this stock a strong buy. The confidence in Meta Platform’s performance stems from its stellar Q1 earnings report with revenue up 27% YOY at $36.5 billion.
On the date of publication, Divya Premkumar did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Divya has a background in finance and accounting and has worked in FP&A roles at Fortune 500 companies. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing on a variety of topics including stocks, crypto, blockchain and global policy.