Cathie Wood Goes Shopping: 3 Stocks She Just Bought
Nvidia shares have nearly doubled off their springtime lows, but Ark Invest is still adding to the country's most valuable publicly traded company.
Iridium is cranking out uninspiring revenue gains, but the bottom line is a better story.
Teradyne has seen back-to-back weeks of analyst downgrades, but Cathie Wood sees an opportunity.
10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›
It's been a great year for the co-founder and CEO of Ark Invest to get her groove back. Cathie Wood's largest exchange-traded fund is now up 31% this year, well ahead of the three major market indexes that are sporting single-digit-percentage gains in 2025. Wood publishes Ark's daily transactions at the end of every trading day. What's she buying now?
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM), and Teradyne (NASDAQ: TER) are three of the more interesting stocks that Ark bought on Wednesday. Wood was adding to existing positions in all three names. Let's take a closer look.
1. Nvidia
You can't stop the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, something that has catapulted Nvidia to the market cap crown among U.S. exchange-listed stocks. The developer of graphics processing units and AI chips became the first company to top $4 trillion in market capitalization this summer, notching another all-time high this week.
Nvidia investors weren't as giddy earlier this year. The shares would shed more than a third of their value in 2025 by the time Nvidia bottomed out. A one-two punch -- initially triggered by news of a Chinese AI start-up announcing that it could deliver respectable generative AI without using Nvidia's latest chips and then culminating in export restrictions into China for its high-end H20 chips -- fueled the sell-off, but the comeback story was as fast as some of the company's chips.
Nvidia has braced investors to expect billions in quarterly charges stemming from its inability to move H20 chips into the country with the world's second-largest economy. However, there is some light at the end of that trade war tunnel. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Reuters this week that resuming H20 sales is a bargaining chip in negotiations with China in order to get more essential rare-earth elements going the other way.
It also seems that the initial cheap AI threat of China's DeepSeek was overblown. Nvidia saw its revenue surge a better-than-expected 73% its latest quarter. Analysts see Nvidia revenue and earnings per share soaring 52% and 47% respectively, when it reports financial results next month. The shares have gone on to nearly double since its April lows. It's just another win for the country's most valuable publicly traded company, a scintillating 10-bagger over the past three years.
2. Iridium Communications
Iridium hasn't had the same dramatic recovery as Nvidia, but it is clawing its way back to its recent highs. The data and voice satellite communications specialist also isn't growing as quickly as the company wearing the market cap crown, but its business is improving. Iridium was serving more than 2.4 million total billable subscribers by the end of March, a 5% increase over the past year. It will provide its second-quarter results next week.
Growth is being fueled by gains in commercial Internet of Things. Top-line growth hasn't been very impressive. Iridium has clocked in with just one year of double-digit revenue growth over the past six years. However, its bottom line is making a more dramatic recovery. Analysts see Iridium's business growing at a modest 6% clip this year, slowing to 4% in 2026. However, they are also targeting a better-than-30% jump on the bottom line in each of those years. Margin improvement could drive its current yield of nearly 2% higher.
3. Teradyne
Business is starting to accelerate for Teradyne. The maker of chip-testing equipment saw its revenue rise 5% last year after back-to-back years of double-digit declines. It's starting to pick up the pace. Teradyne's top line has come through with double-digit gains in back-to-back quarters.
Wood might be early on Teradyne. Samik Chatterjee at J.P. Morgan downgraded the shares from overweight to neutral just hours after Ark added to its Teradyne stake. The analyst is concerned about customers holding back on investing in semiconductor equipment in this macro environment, but that would be a near-term setback that could lead to pent-up demand in the long run. Chatterjee is still raising the firm's price target to $102, a move that still has 11% of near-term upside to the current price.
Unfortunately this is the second downgrade Teradyne has seen this month. Wood loves her winners, but she also doesn't mind opportunistic nibbles on some of her laggards.
Do the experts think Nvidia is a buy right now?
The Motley Fool's expert analyst team, drawing on years of investing experience and deep analysis of thousands of stocks, leverages our proprietary Moneyball AI investing database to uncover top opportunities. They've just revealed their to buy now — did Nvidia make the list?
When our Stock Advisor analyst team has a stock recommendation, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is up 1,059% vs. just 180% for the S&P — that is beating the market by 879.31%!*
Imagine if you were a Stock Advisor member when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $674,281!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,050,415!*
The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025
JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rick Munarriz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Teradyne. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Cathie Wood Goes Shopping: 3 Stocks She Just Bought was originally published by The Motley Fool
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
If You'd Invested $10,000 in Navitas Semiconductor Stock 2 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today
Key Points Its partnership with Nvidia is proof of the long-term potential for silicon carbide and gallium nitride chips. Investors are looking to 2027 and the launch of new data centers to spur Navitas' growth. 10 stocks we like better than Navitas Semiconductor › If you're wondering how much you'd have if you'd invested $10,000 in Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NVTS) stock two years ago -- and I'm sure you are since you're reading this -- the answer is about $7,500 as I write this on Aug. 10. While that might surprise investors in Navitas Semiconductor who've only been watching it in 2025, as it's up 85% so far this year, it does highlight some points about investing in growth stocks. Why Navitas Semiconductor's stock has gone up so much in 2025 The simple reason for this year's jump comes down to the mid-May announcement of a partnership with Nvidia to develop data center power architecture for the next generation of data centers, due to launch in 2027. The new more efficient, reliable, and lower-maintenance cost 800 V data centers need silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) chips (Navitas' specialty) in the power conversion process in the new data centers. Considerations for growth investors The fact that the stock is down over the last couple of years indicates that patience is key when investing in growth stocks, and it pays to avoid getting caught up in euphoria. For example, in the summer of 2023, Navitas offered 11.5 million shares at a price of $8, which the market eagerly took up. Unfortunately, some of its key end markets, like electric vehicles and consumer electronics (notably mobile phones), slowed markedly, and the stock declined. However, it makes sense to buy into weakness if you have data-backed belief in the long-term growth prospects of a company. This has happened as investors have jumped back into Navitas on the Nvidia news. Do the experts think Navitas Semiconductor is a buy right now? The Motley Fool's expert analyst team, drawing on years of investing experience and deep analysis of thousands of stocks, leverages our proprietary Moneyball AI investing database to uncover top opportunities. They've just revealed their to buy now — did Navitas Semiconductor make the list? When our Stock Advisor analyst team has a stock recommendation, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is up 1,060% vs. just 182% for the S&P — that is beating the market by 877.59%!* Imagine if you were a Stock Advisor member when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2025 Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. If You'd Invested $10,000 in Navitas Semiconductor Stock 2 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Margins Are Falling, Yet Mercado Libre's Moat Keeps Growing
Despite the tough macroeconomic environment in Latin America, Mercado Libre (NASDAQ:MELI) has outperformed the market, rising roughly 40% year to date. The company delivered a strong top-line performance, with revenue surpassing analyst expectations, although its earnings per share fell short of consensus estimates. It also announced that after 26 years as founder and CEO, Marcos Galperin will transition to the role of Executive Chairman on January 1, 2026, with Ariel Szarfsztejn, President of Commerce, set to become CEO. In my previous article, I made a deep dive into Mercado Libre's different segments and its full ecosystem, outlining the company's unique position in Latin America. In this article, I will break down the company's latest earnings report, its moat and competitive position, and analyze its valuation to deliver my take on the stock. Mercado Libre has created a fully vertically integrated ecosystem. The company offers an integrated network of e-commerce and digital financial services, including the Mercado Libre Marketplace, the Mercado Pago fintech platform, the Mercado Envios logistics service, Mercado Ads, Mercado Libre Classifieds, Mercado Shops, Mercado Play, Mercado Credito, and Meli AIR. Source: Mercado Libre Its Commerce segment includes the Mercado Libre marketplace (third-party sellers) and its first-party retail operations, as well as related services like Mercado Envios (logistics and shipping fulfillment) and Mercado Ads (advertising platform). Its Fintech segment, via Mercado Pago, provides digital payments, online checkout for merchants, mobile wallets, credit offerings, and even asset management and insurance products. This model is particularly effective in a region like Latin America, where fragmented logistics and low financial inclusion present significant barriers to traditional e-commerce players. With these early investments, Mercado Libre has addressed these challenges head-on. Today, Mercado Libre is the market leader in e-commerce across its core markets. Mercado Libre Marketplace, the core service, attracts millions of buyers and sellers, generating Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV). This high volume of transactions flows directly through its payment platform, Mercado Pago. It now has 68 million active users using digital wallets, peer-to-peer transfers, bill pay, credit cards, investments, and more. In many Latin American countries, large portions of the population are unbanked or underserved by traditional banks. The transaction data generated by these segments feeds into Mercado Credito, the company's credit arm, which uses proprietary risk models to offer loans to unbanked and underbanked consumers, as well as to sellers on Mercado Libre's platform, integrating them more deeply into the ecosystem. This makes the company's moat not a single barrier but a combination of strategic assets. The logistics network, Mercado Envios, is another supplement to the system. Mercado Envios complements the company's operations, handling nearly 95% of products and ensuring a delivery speed and reliability that competitors struggle to match. In Q2 2025, more than 75% of orders in Mexico were delivered this way, thanks to the opening of new centers. Another example of Mercado Libre's competitive advantage was the announcement that, for those who are subscribing to their Mercado Plus package, they can now obtain free shipping in Brazil for orders above R$19 ($3.50). The strategy to lower its free shipping threshold in Brazil directly responds to global e-commerce entrants like Shopee and Shein. Despite the company deliberately compressing its margins, it will capture long-term market share and widen its competitive moat. Currently, this offer only applies in Brazil, but I wouldn't be surprised if it expanded into Argentina and Mexico soon. Despite the pressures mentioned before and the ongoing local currency deflation, Mercado Libre has been executing well, particularly in the fintech segment, where it has been focusing on credit cards. Source: Mercado Libre Earnings Presentation Revenue grew FX-neutral 53% year-over-year (YoY) to $6.79 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. This growth was driven by both core segments, with Commerce revenue climbing 45% to $3.8 billion and the Fintech segment accelerating even faster at 63% to $3 billion. A breakdown of revenue by geography highlights the company's exceptional performance across its key markets. Brazil, its largest market, generated $3.47 billion in revenue, while Mexico brought in $1.51 billion, with both markets growing by around 25%. However, Argentina soared 77% to $1.53 billion, underscoring the platform's strength in a country with stabilizing macroeconomic conditions and returning consumer confidence. Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) rose 37% to $15.3 billion, signalling that the commerce arm is still firing on all cylinders. Total Payment Volume (TPV) surged 61% to $64.6 billion, reflecting the strong momentum on the fintech side, while unique active buyers grew 25%, reaching 71 million. More impressive is the fintech side of the platform, which Mercado Libre has been focusing on. Asset under management grew 109% to $14 billion, the largest nominal quarter-over-quarter gain to date, and the credit portfolio grew 91% to $9.4 billion. Asset-backed lending grew 219%, although it remains a very small part of the portfolio. Credit cards, a more meaningful segment, grew 118% to $4 billion. The company expanded this cohort aggressively, which now makes up 43% of the loan book. However, this comes with strings attached. Net interest margin after losses (NIMAL), a profitability metric that factors in losses from customers not repaying credit cards or loans, fell significantly to 23% from a year ago. This is driven by the higher adoption of credit cards. Credit cards naturally have lower NIMAL than loan portfolios, which has pulled the overall figure down as management pursues a strategy to encourage greater adoption. Encouragingly, the entire 2023 Brazil credit cohort turned positive on a NIMAL basis. While revenue and operational metrics were strong, profitability was under pressure. The operating margin compressed by 210 basis points to 12.2%, while net income margin contracted to 7.7%. Management has explained that this is a direct result of increased investments in logistics, marketing, and customer growth. Even with these costs, the company continues to demonstrate its financial health. It maintains strong liquidity with approximately $12 billion in cash and short-term investments. The company's net debt did increase to $3.83 billion, but this was a deliberate move to fund fulfillment capacity projects and its fast-growing fintech and credit businesses. The company reported $454 million in adjusted free cash flow, showing its ability to generate cash even while investing heavily for the future. Valuing Mercado Libre is a complex exercise that requires more than a simple analysis. It is difficult to find competitors as broad as Mercado Libre. In my opinion, a sum-of-the-parts analysis, which breaks down each segment and compares it to Mercado Libre's peers, is a more accurate way to value the company. Source: Author Comparing Mercado Libre to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) as a whole, Mercado Libre trades at a 3.8x forward price to sales (P/S) and a 43x forward price to earnings (P/E). Amazon trades at slightly cheaper multiples. It is worth highlighting that Mercado Libre is expected to grow 3x faster in the next two years, which could justify the higher multiple. Looking at the PEG ratio, Mercado Libre trades at a lower ratio, suggesting despite the higher P/E, when factoring in growth rates, Mercado Libre is cheaper. When it comes to price to free cash flow (P/FCF), Mercado Libre trades at 16x compared to Amazon's 176x, underscoring how powerful Mercado Libre's FCF is relative to other e-commerce giants. However, it's important to note that Amazon has been heavily investing in AI, which has impacted its FCF. From a sum-of-the-parts perspective, and compared to its peers in each category, Mercado Libre appears to be slightly undervalued. Based on my approach, I arrived at a price target of $2,354, representing an 18% upside from the current price. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if Mercado Libre commands a higher premium due to its dominant position in Latin America. While the region carries geopolitical risks, it also creates significant barriers to entry, making it difficult for competitors to penetrate the market, thereby reinforcing Mercado Libre's dominance. Source: Author Lastly, some gurus have slightly reduced their exposure to Mercado Libre, which I believe reflects a profit-taking strategy. Jerome Dodson (Trades, Portfolio) cut his position by 26%, while Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), the largest guru investor, trimmed by just 7%. Source: Gurufocus While the Q2 report was strong, there are several material risks that demand attention. The company will no longer be a founder-led business once a new CEO takes the helm. The announced transition of leadership to Ariel Szarfsztejn (current Commerce president) on January 1, 2026, introduces some uncertainty. While Szarfsztejn is an insider and the transition seems well-planned, investors will be watching to ensure the company doesn't lose a step after founder Marcos Galperin steps back. Operating in Latin America exposes Mercado Libre to significant macroeconomic and geopolitical instability. A tangible example is the $117 million loss incurred in Q2 due to the devaluation of the Argentine peso, a risk that is inherent to the region. Another risk is the company's aggressively expanding credit portfolio, as mentioned earlier. The provision for doubtful accounts grew to $690 million in Q2 2025, reflecting the expanded lending operations. Although management stated that its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio improved, a downturn in the region's economy could quickly cause a reversal of this trend, impacting profitability and asset quality. MercadoLibre remains an exceptional company with a wide moat and a long runway. The business is sacrificing short-term margins to widen its ecosystem, drawing revenue from various streams. While each individual segment has worthy competitors, it is the ecosystem that enhances Mercado Libre's moat. Combined with the massive expected growth in the Latin American e-commerce market, from $507 billion in 2023 to over $1 trillion by 2027, I remain optimistic about Mercado Libre's long-term prospects and believe it will continue to outperform the market. For now, I will continue to hold my position and am willing to add at any pullback. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
If You'd Invested $1,000 in Viking Therapeutics 3 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today
Key Points Weight loss drugs are big news, and Viking has one in development in both injectable and oral form. Investors are eagerly awaiting trial results later this year. 10 stocks we like better than Viking Therapeutics › Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) investors have seen a handsome return over the past three years, and this demonstrates that the real battle over biopharmaceutical stocks is won in the lab and clinical trials. Viking Therapeutics doesn't have a commercial product on the market yet and has never generated a dollar in revenue. Yet, it's made many investors wealthy. One thousand dollars invested three years ago is now worth an incredible $10,640 as of Aug. 11. Viking Therapeutics: The best may be yet to come The excitement around the stock centers on its lead development compound, VK2735. It's a GLP-1/GIP dual agonist for the treatment of obesity. Vikings VK2735 is following in the footsteps of Eli Lilly's GLP-1/GIP dual agonist tirzepatide (branded as Zepbound), and investors are hoping VK2735 can achieve similar levels of success. Where is this promising drug now VK2735 is in phase 3 trials in subcutaneous (injection) form, with results probably not due until 2027, and, arguably more excitingly, it's in phase 2 trials in an oral form. The latter has obvious benefits of convenience and comfort for patients, and management expects to report on the phase 2 trial this year. Investors have high hopes, as the phase 2 subcutaneous trial resulted in up to 88% of patients experiencing more than 10% weight loss. The phase 1 trials in oral form were also impressive (remember that phase 1 trials are fundamentally exploratory and often aim to understand safety and tolerability), with a mean weight loss of 8.2% after 28 days of dosing. These results are enough to encourage Viking investors that VK2735 could prove to be a hugely successful compound, and the results of the latest tests of the oral form are eagerly anticipated, not least by potential larger pharmaceutical companies that may try to buy the company and take VK2735 (oral) through phase 3. Should you invest $1,000 in Viking Therapeutics right now? Before you buy stock in Viking Therapeutics, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Viking Therapeutics wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2025 Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. If You'd Invested $1,000 in Viking Therapeutics 3 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
