Key takeaways:

• Small and mid-cap stocks delivered outsized returns in November, sparking community interest

• As market sentiment improved, Selfwealth members grew more confident picking individual stocks in place of ETFs, where selling activity was higher than usual

• Neuren Pharmaceuticals took a firm grip on the top spot for the most popular ASX stock by value

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November was a strong month for the local share market, with investors growing increasingly confident that the Fed Reserve may be inching closer to cutting rates in the coming months, and that the RBA could be done hiking rates altogether as inflation retreats.

The ASX 200 delivered a monthly gain of 4.5%, led by a strong double-digit return from the healthcare sector. There were also strong contributions from REITs, tech stocks, and resources names outside the under-fire lithium and energy sectors.

Let’s take a look at the major trades across the Selfwealth community last month.

ASX share trading activity

Although lithium remains on the nose across the broader market despite risk-on sentiment returning to the fore last month, Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) was again the most traded ASX company, recording its fifth consecutive finish at the top of the charts. 

Nearly two-thirds of all trades in PLS were buy orders, which suggests the Selfwealth community is keenly backing the stock amid a significant uptick in short-selling interest and a sharp sell-off. At the end of November, more than 19% of PLS shares on issue were sold short as lithium prices slumped to a 26-month low.

Clinical stage immuno-oncology business Imugene (ASX: IMU) was one of the hottest stocks last month, with its share price more than doubling. The rally was kick-started after management reported positive early signs from the company’s Phase 1 trial of its CF33-hNIS cancer-killer virus. Buoyed by the update, 64.7% of all trades in IMU last month were new holders or existing investors topping up their stake in the health stock.

Raiden Resources (ASX: RDN) shares went on a strong run through the first half of November, and it appears the Selfwealth community was inspired to follow suit. Two-thirds of all trades in the small-cap miner were buy orders, likely encouraged by rock chip samples returning RDN’s highest grade assays yet. The company has a number of tenements adjacent to Azure Minerals’ (ASX: AZS) Andover lithium discovery, so some investors may be treating Raiden as a ‘nearology’ play.

A spike in interest saw TG Metals (ASX: TG6) land itself among the top 20 most traded ASX stocks for the first time. In 14th position, the stock rose to prominence after yielding a monthly return in excess of 150%, and at its peak, a gain of about 900% from late October. Exploration drilling at the explorer’s Lake Johnston project intersected high-grade spodumene bearing pegmatite, indicating there is still sizeable trading appeal in lithium.

Two other major movers in the top 20 included Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC), down four spots to 17th, and ResMed (ASX: RMD), down seven spots to 18th position.

Pilbara Minerals (PLS) - 63.6%

1. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) - 40.6%

2. ANZ (ANZ) - 66.3%

3. BHP (BHP) - 48.8%

4. Woodside Energy (WDS) - 74.0%

5. Westpac (WBC) - 51.4%

6. Macquarie Group (MQG) - 57.7%

7. Imugene (IMU) - 64.7%

8. Qantas (QAN) - 53.1%

9. Liontown Resources (LTR) - 65.4%

10. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) - 34.6%

11. CSL (CSL) - 57.2%

12. Raiden Resources (RDN) - 66.6%

13. TG Metals (TG6) - 62.8%

14. Xero (XRO) - 55.4%

15. Core Lithium (CXO) - 53.0%

16. Whitehaven Coal (WHC) - 53.5%

17. ResMed (RMD) - 76.9%

18. Sayona Mining (SYA) - 58.7%

19. NAB (NAB) - 61.9%

In the ETF space, selling activity represented a notably higher weight of all trades compared with the month prior, albeit the majority of trades remained buy orders. The buy-to-sell ratio for the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) and the Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) declined over 12 and 13 percentage points respectively month-over-month. 

Meanwhile, a red-hot performance by US shares last month encouraged investors to prioritise the likes of the Ishares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) and Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) ahead of the ASX-focused BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200).

Top 10 ETFs by Trades

1. Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) - 78.3% Buy-Sell Ratio

2. Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (VDHG) - 68.9% Buy-Sell Ratio

3. Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS) - 76.2% Buy-Sell Ratio

4. Ishares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) - 80.1% Buy-Sell Ratio

5. Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ) - 68.5% Buy-Sell Ratio

6. BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (A200) - 74.8% Buy-Sell Ratio

7. BetaShares Geared Australian Equity (Hedge Fund) (GEAR) - 47.1% Buy-Sell Ratio

8. Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (VTS) - 72.2% Buy-Sell Ratio

9. Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (DHHF) - 78.4% Buy-Sell Ratio

10. Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund (BBOZ) - 50.6% Buy-Sell Ratio

By money flow, Westpac (ASX: WBC) was the most traded name, with more than $50 million worth of WBC shares swapping hands. It was fractionally ahead of the Betashares Geared Australian Equity Fund (ASX: GEAR), which finished the month in second place, but WBC saw approximately $10 million more in trading activity than third-place ANZ (ASX: ANZ). 

However, money flow into ANZ was significantly higher than its closest banking peer, and that of Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG), giving rise to the possibility that some investors may have rotated into the Melbourne-based bank.

Elsewhere, accounting software firm Xero (ASX: XRO) was at the centre of significant money flow. Despite reporting a $50 million profit for the first half of FY24, its shares plunged more than 12% on the day as shareholders had second thoughts about the company’s strategy, which saw growth come in short of expectations, particularly in the US and the UK.

Top 20 Securities Traded by Value

1. Westpac (WBC) - 42.9% Buy-Sell Ratio

2. Betashares Geared Australian Equity Fund (GEAR) - 45.7% Buy-Sell Ratio

3. ANZ (ANZ) - 66.8% Buy-Sell Ratio

4. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) - 42.3% Buy-Sell Ratio

5. Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund (BBOZ) - 48.5% Buy-Sell Ratio

6. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) - 52.1% Buy-Sell Ratio

7. BHP (BHP) - 42.8% Buy-Sell Ratio

8. CSL (CSL) - 47.3% Buy-Sell Ratio

9. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) - 42.5% Buy-Sell Ratio

10. Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (AAA) - 44.4% Buy-Sell Ratio

11. Global X Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund (LNAS) - 52.6% Buy-Sell Ratio

12. Rio Tinto (RIO) - 43.4% Buy-Sell Ratio

13. Macquarie Group (MQG) - 44.3% Buy-Sell Ratio

14. Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) - 46.9% Buy-Sell Ratio

15. ETFS Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund (SNAS) - 54.1% Buy-Sell Ratio

16. Qantas (QAN) - 49.0% Buy-Sell Ratio

17. Xero (XRO) - 42.9% Buy-Sell Ratio

18. Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS) - 47.3% Buy-Sell Ratio

19. Woodside Energy (WDS) - 73.5% Buy-Sell Ratio

20. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) - 51.5% Buy-Sell Ratio

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs?

As the second best performing ASX 200 stock from November, Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU) shares leapt 44.6%, which also saw total holdings in NEU across the Selfwealth community swell past $230 million. 

The catalyst for NEU’s surge was the release of a sales update for its Daybue product. Net sales in the US reached US$66.9 million in the third quarter, and are expected to reach between US$80 million and US$87.5 million in the final quarter of the year, paving the way for Neuren to receive royalties in excess of $10 million for each quarter.

While CSL (ASX: CSL) moved one spot higher into fourth spot, that was partly a byproduct of Westpac slipping two places to the fifth most held stock by value on the Selfwealth platform.

Shares in the biotech giant appeared to reach a recent bottom at the very end of October, which meant CSL largely enjoyed a stellar run in November with the backing of positive market sentiment behind it. In turn, the stock gained 12.9%.

On the other hand, Westpac’s shares advanced 3.7% last month, but the overall value of community holdings slipped by 2.3%. There was no immediate explanation for this observation, particularly with financials enjoying solid support of late following robust earnings, but selling pressure may have been attributable to the buying opportunity emerging after ANZ shares fell sharply, and after WBC shares traded ex-dividend earlier in the month.

With its share price falling 14.3% across November, Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) went from 14th position to 18th. The stock has been reeling after it was forced into an emergency capital raise to fund operations once Albemarle walked away from its takeover deal. Combined with a broader lithium sell-off underpinned by short activity, LTR shares landed at a nine-month low. 

For the first time since March, Qantas (ASX: QAN) found itself back in the top 20. The airline has battled significant headwinds on account of numerous publicity challenges, but strong buying support returned in November as the stock leapt nearly 8%. A trading update delivered at the company’s AGM appeared to restore some confidence in the stock, and nearly 6,000 unique Selfwealth portfolios were holding QAN shares at the end of November.

Most Traded ASX Single Stocks

1. Neuren Pharmaceuticals (NEU)

2. Commonwealth Bank (CBA)

3. BHP (BHP)

4. CSL (CSL)

5. Westpac (WBC)

6. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ)

7. National Australia Bank (NAB)

8. Macquarie Group (MQG)

9. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG)

10. Australian Foundation Investment (AFI)

11. Woodside Energy (WDS)

12. Wesfarmers (WES)

13. Pilbara Minerals (PLS)

14. Rio Tinto (RIO)

15. Telstra (TLS)

16. Argo Investments (ARG)

17. Woolworths (WOW)

18. Liontown Resources (LTR)

19. Whitehaven Coal (WHC)

20. Qantas (QAN)

After missing the cut in September and October, the BetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF) returned to the list of the top 10 ASX-listed ETFs held in the Selfwealth community. That came at the expense of the Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (ASX: AAA). This swap may have had something to do with an unwinding in bets on future RBA rate hikes, with inflation data supporting a rate pause, at least until early next year.

Most Traded ASX ETFs

1. Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS)

2. Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS)

3. Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (VDHG)

4. Ishares S&P 500 ETF (IVV)

5. BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (A200)

6. Vanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF (VTS)

7. Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ)

8. Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (VHY)

9. BetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF (DHHF)

10. Vanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF (VEU)