If you had invested $ 10,000 in the favorite stock of ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood this time last year, this is what it would be worth now.

There is a new star in the investment business, and her name is Cathie Wood. The founder of the ARK Invest family of actively managed ETFs revolutionized the industry, shifting away from passive index tracking in favor of good old-fashioned stock selection. Wood’s five ETFs have more than doubled in the past year, and all five feature diversified portfolios with several dozen stocks in their holdings.

However, there is one stock that Wood has praised more than any other. It has been an integral part of its ETF holdings over the past year, and its performance has been critical to the success of ARK Invest. Below, we’ll share what Wood said about this business and if she thinks she still has good prospects for growth going forward.

The only bull in a room full of bears

Once a stock has skyrocketed, it’s easy to be bullish. But Wood was excited about his favorite stock long before it was scorching – and even when many thought it was on the verge of collapse.

To put it in context, let’s go back to August 2019. The stock price of Wood’s favorite had fallen by a third since the start of the year. Many were skeptical of its ability to bounce back from one of the many controversies surrounding the company and its CEO. The company even lowered the prices of its main product line, and some even feared a bankruptcy filing was imminent.

The stock, of course, is You’re here (NASDAQ: TSLA), and nothing is happening with the company a year and a half ago dissuaded Wood from his optimistic views. “We think the negative sentiment is pretty amazing,” she said in an interview with CNBC. Wood saw the gross margins of the company’s products grow over time and pointed to the ancillary potential of autonomous vehicle technology as a huge technological asset that no one at the time highly valued.

In terms of competition, Wood noted, Tesla was building its own competitive advantage by building the place of employment of choice for those interested in innovation. “It attracts all the really good software engineers,” she told CityWireUSA. “Tesla is taking all the oxygen out of the room for other automakers.”

It was way before that, in early 2018, when Wood set a seemingly bizarre price per share target of $ 4,000 per share. In early 2020, she had increased this call to $ 15,000 per share, with a timeline of 2024.

Despite all his criticisms, Wood was right. Its bullish calls were made before Tesla made its 5-to-1 split, so the old price targets of $ 4,000 and $ 15,000 stand at $ 800 and $ 3,000, respectively, after the split. Tesla hit $ 800 per share earlier this year and remains close to that level. That took $ 10,000 invested this time last year to a level closer to adjusted $ 160 per share and turned it into almost $ 50,000.

TSLA data by YCharts.

As for Tesla hitting $ 3,000 per share, it could take a few more years. But Wood did not retract that call and continues to add to what is already a significant position in Tesla in its ARK Invest ETFs.

Big bets on Tesla

Among ARK Invest’s ETFs, you won’t find a stock that contains more money than Tesla. The following ETFs have positions:

• The flagship ETF ARK Innovation (NYSEMKT: ARKK) is ARK Invest’s largest active ETF and owns 3.1 million shares worth nearly $ 2.48 billion at recent prices. Tesla represents nearly 9% of the fund’s total assets.
• ARK Autonomous Technology and Robotics FNB (NEW: ARKQ) is much smaller but has an even greater concentration in Tesla stock. The fund owns about 511,000 stocks valued at over $ 400 million, representing just under 10% of the ETF’s assets.
• Another million Tesla shares are in the hands of Next Generation Internet ETF ARK (NEW: ARKW). These stocks are worth just under $ 800 million, or 8.5% of assets under management.

At least for now, Wood has found no way to include Tesla in the holdings of ARK Invest’s genomic or fintech ETFs. However, with the company run by Elon Musk, you never know what might be in store.

Buy more Tesla

Despite these great positions, Wood remains optimistic about Tesla. Again this week, she said that ARK Invest had bought shares. Wood highlighted the potential value of cycling as an additional market for Tesla.

Tesla continues to inspire both bullish and bearish calls in the investment community. But two things are certain: Wood’s belief in the pioneer of EV has not wavered, and so far his calls about his favorite stock have gone extremely well for ARK Invest shareholders.