Cathie Wood only bought five stocks on Thursday, across the Ark Invest family of exchange-traded funds that she founded and for which she serves as both CEO and chief investment officer. Three in particular caught my eye.
Ark Invest added to existing positions in The Trade Desk (TTD +1.77%), WeRide (WRD +1.55%), and Pure Storage (PSTG 2.56%) on Thursday. The first two stocks are trading sharply lower in 2025. Pure Storage is bucking the malaise, but let's take a closer look at the three investments that all moved higher for the trading day.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. The Trade Desk
If you come across a market-savvy time traveler from the past, tell them that The Trade Desk has surrendered two-thirds of its value. There's a good chance that the person won't believe you. The adtech leader was rolling for years, but it proved mortal earlier this year.
The Trade Desk fell short of its guidance in February, marking the first time investors have seen this happen in 33 quarters of public trading. The three subsequent quarterly updates this year have failed to ease investor concerns.
NASDAQ: TTD
Key Data Points
Growth is slowing at The Trade Desk. After years of consistent revenue growth north of 20%, year-over-year increases have been in the high teens in its last two financial updates. The current quarter is even worse, as The Trade Desk's outlook translates into 13% revenue growth.
The Trade Desk's programmatic advertising platform remains popular with marketers looking for a leg up in allocating marketing missives across distribution outlets. Customer retention remains north of 95%, the way it has been for the last 11 years. It may have had some early stumbles this year, integrating an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform. You earn market leadership by being an early mover in disruptive tech.
If you were avoiding The Trade Desk in previous years on valuation concerns, check again. The stock's forward P/E multiple -- like its revenue growth -- has slipped to the high teens. Wood isn't a value investor, but it's easy to wait out a turnaround when you're getting in at an attractive entry price.
NASDAQ: WRD
Key Data Points
2. WeRide: Up 122%
It's been a wild ride for WeRide, fittingly enough, since the Chinese company is a leader in autonomous driving products and services. The stock went public 14 months ago at $15.50 a pop, catapulting 81% higher in a single day earlier this year after Nvidia became a minority investor.
Having Nvidia on your side is naturally a good look. When WeRide stock peaked at $44 in February, it had more than tripled year to date. The shares have plummeted 79% from that high. One of this year's hottest stocks is now a broken IPO.
The twist here is that WeRide's business is moving in the right direction, even as the stock started heading in the opposite direction. Revenue soared 144% in its latest quarter, the biggest jump in WeRide's history. It now has autonomous vehicles licensed in eight different countries, including recent approval for a driverless robotaxi permit in Abu Dhabi.
The Nvidia stake was small, and the upticks weren't entirely warranted. However, with the stock now well below where it was before the Nvidia deal was announced, it's a compelling investment in self-driving car stocks for patient investors.
NYSE: PSTG
Key Data Points
3. Pure Storage
Let's close with Pure Storage. The provider of data storage and management solutions offers a flash memory-based platform for enterprises and data centers. Flash memory is a commodity, but when paired with Pure Storage's proprietary software, it becomes 5 times more effective.
Revenue rose 16% in its latest quarter. This may not seem like a lot, but it's the second-strongest quarter for Pure Storage in the last three years. Revenue growth is accelerating for the second consecutive year, and analysts expect the top-line jumps to continue widening in the upcoming fiscal year. Pure Storage may not seem cheap at more than 30 times forward earnings, but its unique leadership in a growing industry is worth a premium.
