Ark favorite UiPath plunges 25% after 4th-quarter earnings reveal underwhelming guidance, adding to woes of innovative growth names

• UiPath stock plunged 25% to an all-time-low on Thursday after its fourth-quarter report gave disappointing guidance.
• The software company expects full-year revenue of up to $1.1 billion, below analyst estimates of $1.2 billion.
• Cathie Wood's Ark Invest counts UiPath as its eighth largest position and has been consistently buying the stock since it went public.

UiPath stock plunged as much as 25% on Thursday after the software company reported fourth-quarter earnings that included a disappointing outlook for the year ahead.

While fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat analyst estimates, that wasn't enough to counter weak first-quarter and full-year guidance. The company expects revenue of up to $225 million in its first quarter, below analyst expectations of $247 million. For its fiscal 2023, UiPath sees revenue of up to $1.1 billion, below analyst estimates of $1.2 billion.

"We have built a global business that serves customers in more than 115 countries, including countries across eastern Europe and Russia. We feel confident in our market leading position in automation and prospects for future growth at scale but believe it is prudent at this time to factor both our European exposure and go-to-market leadership transition into the financial outlook we are providing this afternoon," CEO Daniel Pines said.

UiPath is yet another innovation stock owned by Ark Invest that has been pummeled over the past year, as rising interest rates and inflation take a bite out of growth stocks. Across all of its ETFs, UiPath is the eighth largest holding and is owned across six different ETFs. The position stood at less than $800 million on Thursday.

That's a big loss for Ark, which has an estimated average purchase price of between $59 and $64, according to Cathie's Ark, a website that compiles and organizes the daily trade data released by Ark Invest. UiPath hit a record-low $21.80 on Thursday, a far cry from its post IPO rally to a record $90 per share last year.

Of the 100 trades in UiPath stock across all of Ark Invest's ETFs, 98 have been buys and two have been sells, according to Cathie's Ark.

UiPath isn't the only innovation stock sitting near its lows. Of the 37 stocks held in Ark Invest's flagship ETF, only two have a positive return over the past year, while only four have a positive return year-to-date, according to data from Koyfin. The only stock held by the ETF that is up on a year-ago and year-to-date basis is Tesla.