The market has been turbulent in recent weeks, with a broad range of concerns weighing on investors' minds. Some have worried about the valuations of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks and whether these players will live up to expectations. Investors also have questioned the state of the economy and are waiting for additional clarity on the pace of interest rate cuts. Finally, the conflict in Iran has added to market uncertainty, and as a result, the S&P 500 has shifted from gains to losses multiple times in a short period.
Against this backdrop, it's impossible to predict how even the highest-quality stocks will fare in a period of days or weeks. But if you are a long-term investor, it's an excellent idea to go shopping for stocks during difficult times. Long-term investing, or holding onto stocks for at least five years, is the surest ticket to an investment win. That's because it offers you time to accompany a company through its growth story -- and time will limit the impact of the down markets you encounter along the way. Meanwhile, when stocks fall, you can get in on them for great prices.
Cathie Wood, founder and chief of Ark Invest, knows this, and that's why she often buys aggressively when others are fleeing the market. Wood favors long-term investing and betting on innovators across industries, from general tech to biotech, autonomous vehicles, and more. Let's check out two stocks she just bought after the recent tech pullback.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. CoreWeave
On March 3, Wood added more shares of CoreWeave (CRWV +2.35%) to her flagship Ark Innovation fund. The company is the 21st-largest holding, with a weighting of 1.8%, out of a total of 45 positions. This is after CoreWeave stock sank 14% in February.
CoreWeave fits nicely with Wood's focus on innovation. The company is a key player in the AI landscape as it offers customers the ability to rent top Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) for their AI workloads. Capacity is in great need right now as companies rush to score an AI win -- and many don't have the resources, time, or need to build their own infrastructure. So they've rushed to CoreWeave for their projects, resulting in explosive revenue growth for the company.
CRWV Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts
I would expect this to continue since we're in the early stages of AI actually being applied to real-world problems, and as it's used this way more and more, CoreWeave may benefit. GPUs are necessary for AI models to do their job, so companies will continue to need access to this compute.
All of this means there may be plenty of bright days ahead for this innovator -- and its shareholders.
NASDAQ: CRWV
Key Data Points
2. Amazon
Wood added to her Amazon (AMZN 1.02%) position on March 3 and March 4, buying shares for Ark Innovation and four of her other funds. Amazon is in the 20th spot in Ark Innovation, with a weight of 1.9%.
Amazon is another company that's already winning in the AI boom, as a user and seller of AI. The e-commerce business is using this technology to gain efficiency, help shoppers, and more. For example, AI helps Amazon select the fastest delivery routes, saving time and money. And Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud business, is a leading provider of AI products and services. This has helped the unit reach an annual revenue run rate of $142 billion. Amazon recently announced that as it opens new capacity, it's able to monetize it immediately.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
AWS is the leading cloud provider globally, and this existing customer base should position it well to keep on gaining business in the AI space. Meanwhile, AWS also continues to deliver growth from non-AI contracts -- so it doesn't depend only on AI.
Today, Amazon shares trade for 28x forward earnings estimates after the recent dip, so it's not surprising that bargain-hunting Wood snapped them up for this great price.
