Ark Invest bought $5.5 million worth of shares in Circle Internet (CRCL) on Monday as the stablecoin developer’s stock pumped following its first-quarter earnings report.
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based investment manager added 41,904 shares across three of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Innovation (ARKK), Next Generation Internet (ARKW) and Blockchain and Fintech Innovation (ARKF).
CRCL shares rose 16% to $131.76, the highest closing price since March 18, after the company posted estimate-beating earnings per share (EPS) of 21 cents.
Circle, whose USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, also revealed a $222 million raise for its Arc blockchain in a presale of the ARC token.
The purchase is Ark’s first of Circle stock since March 24, when it bought $16.3 million worth as the shares slumped 20%. It last sold CRCL on April 17, dumping $1.2 million worth on a day the stock closed at around $106.
The Cathie Wood-led company frequently buys into weakness in equities to capture greater value and rebalance the weighting of its ETFs. It is less common to see sizeable purchases that coincide with large share-price gains.