Cathie Wood sold $11.6 million of Palantir after a 30% rally. The software firm's earnings beat estimates and raised guidance, but Ark's flagship ETF continues to see outflows.
Alpha Score of 55 reflects moderate overall profile with moderate momentum, poor value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
Cathie Wood, chief of Ark Investment Management, sold roughly $11.6 million of Palantir Technologies stock this week, locking in gains after the shares jumped more than 30% over the past month.
Ark's daily trading disclosures show Wood's funds sold 66,533 shares of PLTR on Aug. 10, 12 and 13. The sales came after Palantir reported second-quarter earnings on Aug. 4 that sent the stock up 29.45% in a single day. The software company posted adjusted earnings of 41 cents a share, topping analyst estimates of 35 cents. Revenue surged 93% from a year earlier to $1.94 billion, beating expectations of $1.80 billion.
Palantir raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $8.15 billion to $8.16 billion, up from a prior outlook of $7.65 billion to $7.66 billion. U.S. commercial revenue jumped 149% year over year to $764 million and has grown 380% on a compounded basis since 2024. The company now expects U.S. commercial revenue to exceed $3.42 billion in 2026, up from an earlier forecast of $3.22 billion.
Wall Street analysts responded by raising price targets. UBS analyst Karl Keirstead lifted his target to $220 from $200, calling the second-quarter growth "exceptional" and noting no signs of competitive pressure. Citi raised its target to $245 from $200, citing stronger bookings and backlog.
"The results further weaken the bear case around rising AI competition," Citi analysts wrote in a research note.
Wood has been active in Palantir shares for months. She built a large position in 2024, sold heavily in 2025 as the stock climbed, then bought back some shares in June. The latest sales mark another trim, likely to capture gains after the post-earnings rally.
Palantir is the 10th-largest holding in the flagship Ark Innovation ETF, at 3.59% of assets. The ETF carries an Alpha Score of 55 out of 100 on AlphaScala's proprietary model, a "Mixed" rating that reflects the fund's concentrated bets on high-volatility names. Read more on the PLTR stock page.
Wood's broader outlook remains bullish on AI. In a recent post on X, she said U.S. corporate profits before tax stand at 13.2% of GDP, near multi-decade highs. She attributed some of that strength to pandemic-era stimulus but argued that companies are now sustaining margins through AI and productivity gains.
"I think we're still early in seeing how far that can go," Wood said. Companies that use AI effectively will "separate themselves from the ones that don't."
Not all investors share her confidence. The Ark Innovation ETF has seen roughly $2.8 billion in net outflows over the 12 months through Aug. 13, according to ETF research firm VettaFi. Over the five years through Aug. 14, the fund delivered an annualized return of negative 7.40%, while the S&P 500 returned 11.75% over the same period, Morningstar data show.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp told CNBC that the company's growth rate is unusual for a business its size and predicted the pace would continue "for at least another 18 months."
Shares of Palantir are down 2.09% year to date through Aug. 14, trailing the S&P 500's 13.74% gain.
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