Ark Investment Management is known for its positions in names like Tesla , but founder Cathie Wood said Monday that Invitae is one of the firm's most under-appreciated holdings. She believes that the company, which operates in the molecular diagnostics space, is "probably one of the most important companies in the genomic revolution." She noted that the stock has been "getting hammered," with shares dropping more than 36% over the last three months. As of March 5, Invitae is the eleventh largest holding in the Ark Innovation ETF, which trades under the ticker ARKK . "It's a company that has had historically small cash cushions – although they rectified that with offerings, which is great. But it is investing aggressively to be the leader in the molecular diagnostic testing space," she said. Wood, whose suite of Ark funds more than doubled in 2020, sees parallels between Invitae and Tesla. She noted that at present LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics dominate the lab testing space, but that these "very mature" companies will eventually be surpassed. "The new lab tests, which are going to be informed by artificial intelligence and big data and super computing power, are, we believe, in a winner-take-most market," she said. "We think the move toward personalized testing is going to give just a few companies the lion's share of the market. Those companies with the most data, the highest quality data, and the best AI expertise," Wood added. Shares of Invitae closed 1.8% higher on Monday. The company's market value stands at $6.9 billion, according to data from FactSet. Overall, Wood remains optimistic on her holdings despite some recent weakness. "Right now the market is broadening out and we think in an underlying sense the bull market is strengthening and that will play to our benefit over the longer term," she said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Monday. - CNBC's Thomas Franck contributed reporting.
