Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased $25.13 million worth of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) shares as the stock traded roughly 53% below its record high.

The buying took place on September 22, when ARK scooped up a total of 359,612 Rocket Lab shares across three of its funds.

The flagship ARK Innovation ETF led the charge, acquiring 277,573 shares, while the autonomous-technology fund ARKQ added 59,746 shares and the space-focused ARKX purchased 22,293 shares.

The spread of purchases across ARKK, ARKQ and ARKX signals that Wood views Rocket Lab as a disruptive platform with reach across launch services, satellite manufacturing, defense and communications.

This was not an isolated wager, as ARK had already purchased 705,102 Rocket Lab shares worth $44.4 million across two early-September trading sessions before the September 22 transaction.

In July, ARK also bought 62,497 Rocket Lab shares while simultaneously selling 184,670 shares of Iridium, which is a company Rocket Lab has targeted for acquisition.

The accumulation of Rocket Lab shares fits into a broader portfolio rotation that has become increasingly apparent in recent weeks across ARK’s funds.

Wood has trimmed positions in Alphabet, AMD and Palantir while redirecting capital toward beaten-down names including Rocket Lab, Nvidia and Archer Aviation, where she sees more asymmetric upside potential.

Rocket Lab currently sits among a competitive field of holdings in the ARK Innovation ETF, which counts Tesla at 9.38%, SpaceX at 6.01% and Tempus AI at 5.58% among its largest positions.

Other notable holdings in the fund include Circle Internet Group at 5.04%, Coinbase Global at 4.62%, CRISPR Therapeutics at 4.44%, Robinhood Markets at 4.16%, Twist Bioscience at 3.64% and Shopify at 3.07%.

The central risk in the thesis remains one of timing, as higher bond yields punish long-duration growth stocks immediately while the productivity and revenue gains Wood anticipates may take years to fully materialize.

Rocket Lab captures that tension precisely, offering considerable long-term potential alongside demanding execution requirements and significant financial risk before any larger strategic vision can be realized.