What happened Shares of Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ) closed Monday's trading session 16.5% higher. Cathie Wood's ARK Invest got the ball rolling by disclosing that the fund bought more Skillz shares on Friday, giving the stock momentum over the weekend. Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise amplified the gains with an interview on CNBC on Monday afternoon. So what ARK bought more than 1.2 million shares of the mobile gaming specialist on Thursday, bringing the fund's total Skills shares to more than 7 million. Wood added a few thousand more shares on Friday for good measure. This stock now accounts for 1.2% of ARK's invested assets. Skillz gained 9.7% that day, and the upward momentum continued this morning. This afternoon, Paradise took part in a CNBC interview with a bullish attitude. He said that he is excited about Cathie Wood's interest in Skillz and that the get-paid-for-playing platform should remain popular as America and the world reopen as the pandemic ends. These comments drove the stock dramatically higher near the closing bell. Image source: Getty Images. Now what Paradise also argued that short-sellers "just don't understand our business" and that their recent batch of negative claims was "flawed." The young company is off to a rocky but headline-grabbing start. Share prices have now more than doubled since last summer's SPAC-style initial public offering. It's easy to see why noted growth investor Wood has a keen interest in this hot stock, but the heavy short-seller bets also make sense. Skillz is a highly volatile ticker, and that's not changing anytime soon. 10 stocks we like better than Skillz Inc.When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Skillz Inc. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2021 Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Skillz Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source