ARKK holdings executives offload $13.5bn in stock

ARKK holdings executives offload $13.5bn in stock

Founders and senior managers of companies held by Ark Invest’s flagship fund have embarked on an unprecedented bout of stock selling.

Company insiders sold $13.5bn of stock — and bought just $11m — in the six months to December, far higher than in any previous period, according to calculations by StoneX, a brokerage.

The rush for the exit is the latest jolt to the fortunes of the Ark Innovation exchange traded fund (ARKK), which has lostnearly half its value since its February 2021 peak. Its gain of more than 150 per cent in 2020 made it the poster child for Wall Street’s technology-fuelled boom, earning Cathie Wood, its founder, chief executive and portfolio manager, the nickname “Queen of the bull market”.

“The spike in insider sales and the lack of buying interest is worrying,” said Vincent Deluard, global macro strategist at StoneX. “The median ARKK holding has lost 55 per cent since its 52-week high: if insiders are not buying now, why should investors?”

Deluard said it was not unexpected that insider selling should outweigh buying as cash-poor founders diversify their portfolios and early employees receive stock options.

A similar trend has also unfolded in the wider US stock market, with insiders selling a record