Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Buys $13.7M in Circle Shares While Selling Robinhood Stock

TLDR

• ARK Invest bought 217,896 Circle Internet Group shares for ~$13.7M on July 9
• ARK sold 85,319 Robinhood Markets shares worth ~$9.8M on the same day
• ARK has invested over $37M in Circle across roughly two months in 2026
• Circle shares are down 68% over the past year; Robinhood is up over 21%
• Wall Street analysts have an average price target of $131.76 on Circle, implying 109% upside

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Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought 217,896 shares of Circle Internet Group on July 9, spending roughly $13.7 million. At the same time, the firm sold 85,319 shares of Robinhood Markets for approximately $9.8 million.

Circle shares closed at $63.01 that day, down 1.65%. ARK was buying into a declining stock, which fits the firm’s typical approach of buying weakness in names it believes in long-term.

Circle Internet Group, CRCL

Robinhood closed at $115.11, up 1.39% on the same day. Selling into strength allowed ARK to lock in gains and redeploy capital elsewhere.

ARK’s Growing Circle Position

This was not an isolated move. On July 1, ARK bought roughly $18 million worth of Circle shares. Back in May, another $5.5 million went in following the company’s earnings report.

Combined with the latest purchase, ARK has put over $37 million into Circle in about two months. That is an aggressive level of buying even by ARK’s standards.

Circle is the issuer of USDC, one of the most widely used stablecoins in crypto. The company went public in 2025 and shares surged nearly 300% from their offering price before pulling back sharply.

At $63.01, Circle sits well below those post-IPO highs. That kind of drop creates the entry point that growth-focused funds like ARK tend to look for.

Circle’s revenue depends heavily on interest earned from USDC reserves. If interest rates fall, that revenue stream shrinks. The company also faces competition from Tether, whose USDT holds a larger share of the global stablecoin market.

Wall Street and the Regulatory Backdrop

Wood has backed Circle since its debut, and her interest in crypto-linked stocks lines up with her support for the CLARITY Act. That proposed bill would clarify when digital assets are commodities rather than securities and expand oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The legislation missed a July 4 target for Senate passage and now faces an uncertain path forward.

Despite that, Wall Street analysts are broadly positive on Circle. Of 25 analysts covering the stock, 13 have a buy or higher rating. The average 12-month price target of $131.76 implies more than 109% upside from current levels.

Robinhood’s outlook looks more modest. The average analyst price target of $112.32 represents about a 2.4% downside from current levels, suggesting many analysts think the stock has already priced in its gains.

Robinhood has gained more than 21% over the past year. Circle has declined 68% over the same period.

Company insiders at both Circle and Robinhood have been selling shares in recent months, even as ARK builds its Circle position.