Cathie Wood called out Michael Burry on social media after 'The Big Short' investor placed a bet against her flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund.
"To his credit, Michael Burry made a great call based on fundamentals and recognized the calamity brewing in the housing/mortgage market. I do not believe that he understands the fundamentals that are creating explosive growth and investment opportunities in the innovation space," Wood tweeted on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, regulatory filings spotted by CNBC Pro showed Burry bet against Woods' ARK Innovation ETF using options. Burry's Scion Asset Management bought 2,355 put contracts against the red-hot tech ETF during the second quarter and held them through the end of the period. Investors profit from puts when the underlying securities fall in prices. It's not clear whether Burry's position is profitable or whether he still holds the short bet.
Burry was one of the first investors to call and profit from the subprime mortgage crisis. He was depicted in Michael Lewis' book "The Big Short" and the subsequent Oscar-winning movie of the same name.
Wood made a name for herself after a banner 2020 where ARK Innovation returned nearly 150% as the fund had big holdings in shares like Zoom and Teladoc, which thrived during the pandemic.The ETF ballooned with investors hoping to get a piece of the "disruptive innovation" names that Wood touts on her popular YouTube channel. The fund's assets under management are now around $22.5 billion, according to FactSet.
The hot-handed investor gets much of her attention from a younger demographic that she said appreciates the place innovation has in the world today. Traders on Reddit chat rooms refer to Wood as "Cathie BAE" and "Queen Cathie" and post photos of Wood on a t-shirt that says "In Cathie We Trust."
However, some of Wood's top holdings are controversial due to their lofty valuations with many making little or no profits.
Shares of Wood's flagship fund, ARK Innovation, hit a bottom in May as investors rotated into value stocks in the first half of 2021 and out of tech shares; however, the ETF ended the second quarter up 9%. Shares of ARK Innovation are still down 6% year-to-date.