3 stocks she just bought

Cathie Wood is always making moves. The co-founder, CEO and investment manager of Ark Invest publishes daily trades for her family of exchange-traded funds. We know what she’s selling. More importantly for the purpose of this column, we know what she’s buying.

Wood added to three existing positions to start the new trading week and bought more shares 3D systems (NYSE: DDD), Blade Air mobility (NASDAQ:BLDE)And Recursion pharmaceutical products (NASDAQ: RXRX) on Monday. Let’s take a closer look at her latest purchases, which are all stocks trading for less than $10 per share.

1. 3D systems

3D Systems is no longer the company it used to be. Ten years ago, it was a rock star at the forefront of the 3D printing revolution. Now it’s struggling. Turnover is declining for the third year in a row. The lagging turnover is a third less than when turnover peaked in 2018.

It’s also one of this year’s biggest losers; by 2024, more than half of its value will be lost. The additive manufacturing pioneer has stumbled. It started with one disappointing fourth quarter report in February. The company failed to meet analyst expectations on both sides of the income statement. It then offered disappointing revenue guidance for all of 2024.

It got worse.

Six months later there was a repeat performance. 3D Systems once again failed to meet expectations. If investors were unhappy in the spring, when 3D Systems revealed it had only modeled $475 million to $505 million in revenue, imagine what revised guidance for $450 million to $460 million sounds like now.

Investor hunger for 3D printing supplies has cooled down. 3D Systems has not generated any operating profit in the past ten years. The only time it made a reported profit in 2021 was entirely the result of an asset sale. The good news is that analysts see revenue growing again next year. Losses are also expected to decrease. It may take some time for the long-term bullish catalysts to emerge, but Wood isn’t afraid to buy on the dip — even if that dip looks more like a belly flop.

2. Air mobility of the blade

Blade Air Mobility is not a household name for most investors, but it would be if you work at Ark Invest clearing trades. Wood has now bought shares in the short-haul air travel specialist on six consecutive trading days.

Blade Air has a fleet of helicopters that it uses to help hospitals speed up the delivery of vital organs for transplants. This is the largest company and currently accounts for 60% of the revenue mix. Consumer-focused Blade Air — probably the name most people know — is the platform that helps affluent travelers get from airports in densely populated cities to helicopter landing sites. The time-saving and traffic-saving business accounts for 40% of Blade Air’s revenue.

The story continues

Sales have slowed sharply after more than doubling in 2021 and 2022. Year-over-year sales growth fell to 11% in the latest quarter, and analysts see that figure slowing again to a 4% increase for the third quarter that ended last week. There is still hope here. Its losses are narrowing, and it trades at a much lower market cap and revenue figure than a pair of publicly traded next-gen short-haul air travel specialists building out a fleet of electric planes.

3. Recursion drugs

Wood was an active buyer of Recursion Pharmaceuticals this summer, but she had not added to that position for more than a month before Monday’s purchase. Recursion is a clinical stage tech bio company. You probably came up with the “bio” part with the name “Pharmaceuticals” in the company name. The ‘technical’ part is more exciting, but requires a bit more explanation.

Recursion hopes to reinvent the drug discovery process using AI and machine learning. The operating system relies on algorithms and searchable relationships to help speed up the pace of possible treatments.

Wood clearly believes in the Recursion OS platform. She’s not responding to the present, given Recursion’s paltry $49.6 million in revenue versus its $1.8 billion market cap. This is a play on the future, and this summer’s move to acquire another AI drug development company could help the company reach the future faster.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Have you ever felt like you missed the boat on buying the most successful stocks? Then you would like to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts provides a “Double Down” Stocks recommendation for companies they think are about to pop. If you’re worried that you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Amazon: If you had invested $1,000 when we doubled in 2010, you would have $20,363!*

• Apple: If you had invested $1,000 when we doubled in 2008, you would have $41,938!*

• Netflix: If you had invested $1,000 when we doubled in 2004, you would have $378,539!*

We’re currently issuing ‘Double Down’ warnings for three incredible companies, and another opportunity like this may not happen anytime soon.

See 3 “Double Down” Stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns October 7, 2024

Rick Munarriz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends 3D systems. The Motley Fool has one disclosure policy.

Cathie Wood goes on a bargain hunt: 3 stocks she just bought was originally published by The Motley Fool