Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has returned to Chinese equities, making fresh bets on Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Baidu in its latest trading disclosures.

On September 22, ARK purchased Alibaba shares for the first time in four years, marking a significant shift back into the Chinese e-commerce giant. 

The firm acquired a total of 99,090 shares through its ARKW and ARKF exchange-traded funds, representing an investment worth about $16.1 million. 

The move follows a rebound in Alibaba stock, which has surged over 90% year-to-date, buoyed by Beijing’s economic stimulus measures and renewed investor appetite for Chinese technology. As of press time, BABA shares were changing hands at $163. 

Alibaba, one of China’s most dominant tech conglomerates, operates leading platforms in e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital payments, including Taobao and Alipay. 

It can be argued that ARK’s re-entry highlights growing confidence that the company’s turnaround is gaining traction after years of regulatory and market headwinds.

ARK increases stake in Baidu

Alongside the Alibaba purchase, ARK also boosted its holdings in Baidu, increasing its position by 21,245 shares through the ARKQ ETF. The additional investment of roughly $2.9 million lifted ARK’s combined stake in Baidu to about $47 million.

Baidu shares, however, experienced volatility this week. The stock tumbled as much as 7% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, its steepest drop since early April, after soaring 50% earlier in the month. 

Market data showed the stock had been in technically overbought territory in recent sessions before the drop.  Despite the decline, Baidu remains the top performer on the Hang Seng Tech Index in September.

Much of Baidu’s recent momentum has been fueled by its artificial intelligence initiatives, though analysts caution that profitability from these projects remains uncertain.

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