Key takeaway:

• Selfwealth members took interest in semiconductor stocks as the AI frenzy continued to play out, as well as sold-off tech names like Palantir, PayPal, Square, Rivian, and Uber

US markets lost ground last month as investor sentiment cooled, particularly towards tech stocks.

By the end of the month, the S&P 500 had performed slightly better than the other benchmark indexes, slipping 1.8%. On the other hand, the Nasdaq and Dow Jones fell by 2.2% and 2.4% respectively.

Here is a recap of August’s most popular trades by Selfwealth members.

US share trading activity

Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) bumper results saw the stock take third spot among the most traded names last month. The stock set an all-time high after quarterly profits soared 843% versus the year prior to US$6.2 billion. Unprecedented demand for the chip-maker’s artificial intelligence (AI) processors led the business to forecast revenue of US$16 billion for the current quarter. More than 60% of trades in Nvidia last month were buy orders.

The share price of Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) fell 24.5% last month, but Selfwealth members were more optimistic. Nearly three quarters of all trades in the data analytics firm were buy orders. Some investors may have been encouraged by buying activity from the likes of Cathie Wood, which was in contrast to a broker downgrade from Morgan Stanley that put pressure on the firm’s share price.

With the highest buy-to-sell ratio of any US stock inside the top 20 most popular trades, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) was the ninth most traded name. The digital payment platform saw its market valuation sliced by 18% last month as its earnings report fell flat with investors on account of modest growth numbers. However, a fresh 52-week low, and an ‘undemanding’ valuation for a tech stock were some of the potential reasons to prompt buying from Selfwealth members.

Throughout August, 60% of trades in Afterpay-owner Square (NYSE: SQ) were buy orders, despite the stock diving nearly 30% across the course of the month. Second-quarter earnings from the payments tech company preceded most of that slide, despite the company upgrading its EBITDA outlook for 2023. It may be the case that this upgrade was partly responsible for the Selfwealth community’s support for the stock.

Top 20 stocks by Trade Number, with Buy-Sell Ratio (%)

1. Tesla 75.7%

2. Apple 74.3%

3. Nvidia 61.1%

4. Microsoft 67.5%

5. Amazon 59.6%

6. Alphabet 46.3%

7. Palantir 72.6%

8. Advanced Micro Devices 58.2%

9. PayPal 82.2%

10. Walt Disney 62.2%

11. JPMorgan 56.9%

12. Rivian 46.2%

13. Bank of America 56.3%

14. Netflix 44.6%

15. Alibaba 46.0%

16. Meta Platforms 41.7%

17. Berkshire Hathaway 76.6%

18. AMC Entertainment 51.3%

19. Intel 48.4%

20. Square 60.0%

Top 10 ETFs by Trade Number, with Buy-Sell Ratio (%)

1. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares 53.3%

2. ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF 63.6%

3. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares 52.0%

4. ProShares UltraPro QQQ 50.0%

5. Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF 80.0%

6. Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares 51.0%

7. ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF 58.7%

8. ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas 48.7%

9. Bank of Montreal MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Leveraged ETN 51.3%

10. Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3x Shares 50.0%

In a surprise move, Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) was the most actively traded US stock by value on the Selfwealth platform last month, despite the stock sinking 17.8%. While the ambitious electric vehicle maker raised its full-year production forecast and reassured investors about its liquidity, it appeared as though some investors took the opportunity to sell into the news. Prior to that development, RIVN shares had gained about 80% over the preceding three months, suggesting profit taking was in play.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) was the eighth most traded US stock by value in August. Trading activity was more or less split right down the middle in terms of buying and selling, but there was a severalfold increase in the value of shares traded. 

The catalyst for AMD was likely related to the spike in interest for semiconductor stocks following the blowout results from segment leader Nvidia. That also underpinned trading in Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), where the total value of trades in the stock increased around 28% month-over-month.

With its share price up approximately 95% year-to-date entering the month of August, Uber (NYSE: UBER) was riding a wave of momentum. However, some of that momentum petered out throughout the month, with the stock slipping 4.5%. Tech stocks were on the back foot last month, which may have contributed to that, and the overall lack of bullishness across tech names.

Sticking with tech, Twilio (NYSE: TWLO) generated some interest among Selfwealth members. That followed the company’s quarterly results, where management spruiked the prospect of leveraging AI. 

Vaccine manufacturer Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) also made its way onto the radars of a number of traders in August. It was the 20th most traded stock by value in the Selfwealth community. One of the main factors driving interest in the stock was news that Moderna’s latest COVID vaccine generated a “robust immune response” against the Eris variant.

Top 20 stocks by Trade Value, with Buy-Sell Ratio (%)

1. Rivian 50.0%

2. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares 51.4%

3. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares 50.1%

4. Bank of Montreal MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN 50.1%

5. Tesla 51.9%

6. Bank of America 50.6%

7. Carvana 49.9%

8. Advanced Micro Devices 49.7%

9. JPMorgan 50.1%

10. Bank of Montreal MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Leveraged ETN 50.2%

11. Intel 45.2%

12. Apple 51.4%

13. Walt Disney 50.5%

14. Uber 50.0%

15. Alphabet 42.2%

16. Nvidia 52.1%

17. Twilio 52.9%

18. ProShares Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF 50.1%

19. Microsoft 41.2%

20. Moderna 50.2%

Which US shares are the most held?

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) was one of the main beneficiaries of reporting season, with the stock climbing one spot to fifth position among the most held US shares on the Selfwealth platform. In early August the company reported better-than-expected sales and profit figures, in part due to the performance of its cloud-computing division, where big corporations continue to invest.

Elsewhere, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) slipped down to ninth position after its market cap was slashed by 7.1% last month. The decline in community holdings of META was slightly greater at 11.8%, which suggests some investors took profits off the table after a phenomenal 2023, with the stock delivering a triple-digit return thus far.

Rounding things out, Advanced Micro Devices fell four spots to 19th, largely due to its share price decline, the aforementioned buying support in PayPal lifted it two spots to 16th, while the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ) gained two places to finish 15th.

US Companies

1. Tesla

2. Apple

3. Microsoft

4. Alphabet

5. Amazon

6. Royal Bank of Canada

7. Berkshire Hathaway

8. Nvidia

9. Meta Platforms

10. Alibaba

11. Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF

12. GameStop

13. Palantir

14. ProShares UltraPro QQQ

15. Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1

16. PayPal

17. ARK Innovation ETF

18. Advanced Micro Devices

19. Enbridge

20. Toronto-Dominion Bank

That’s all for this Trade Trends report, stay tuned for the next edition this time next month!