Key takeaways:

• While new buyers were taking up shares in Apple and Microsoft, both stocks lost some standing among existing shareholders with large holdings in the Selfwealth community 

• Resurgent crypto prices have recently begun to influence Selfwealth members’ trades 

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With the Santa Rally in full swing, investors latched onto optimism surrounding easing inflation and potential rate cuts in the year ahead, driving global stock markets to their best year since 2019.

By and large, that meant December was a positive month for investors in the US stock market, with each of the major indices achieving encouraging results. The Nasdaq Composite returned 5.5%, the S&P 500 gained 4.4%, and the Dow Jones posted a return of 4.8% for the month.

On that note, these were the most popular trades by Selfwealth members last month.

US share trading activity

Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) was the most traded US security in December, with overall trades in the electric vehicle manufacturer nearly double that of the month prior. In addition, with a buy-to-sell ratio of 70.4%, approximately seven out of every 10 trades were buy orders, demonstrating strong conviction, even if driven by a modest cohort of investors topping up their holdings.

With cryptocurrency prices surging, there was also strong interest in bitcoin mining names. For the second month in a row, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) was among the most actively traded stocks, this time climbing up to 7th spot, while Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) also made the cut, in 13th. 

Another stock moving up the list was Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS), which made its second appearance in as many months. The overall buoyant mood for tech stocks was a tailwind for Zscaler, as well as names like CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD), which benefitted from said enthusiasm. Much of this boiled down to sliding bond yields and a growing confidence among investors that the US Federal Reserve may cut interest rates multiple times in 2024. 

Top 20 Shares by Trades

1. RIVN - Rivian: 70.4%

2. TSLA - Tesla: 63.6%

3. AAPL - Apple: 63.2%

4. NVDA - Nvidia: 66.7%

5. GOOGL - Alphabet: 64.4%

6. AMZN - Amazon: 55.8%

7. COIN - Coinbase: 61.4%

8. ZS - Zscaler: 71.4%

9. MSFT - Microsoft: 60.0%

10. AMD - Advanced Micro Devices: 41.5%

11. BABA - Alibaba: 56.1%

12. LAZR - Luminar Technologies: 53.9%

13. MARA - Marathon Digital Holdings: 50.0%

14. META - Meta Platforms: 44.7%

15. VFS - VinFast Auto: 48.6%

16. PLTR - Palantir: 34.4%

17. CRWD - CrowdStrike Holdings: 60.0%

18. DIS - Disney: 33.3%

19. GME - GameStop: 30.0%

20. BAC - Bank of America: 62.1%

Landing in 6th spot, the Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: TMF) was featured among the most actively traded ETFs. This fund gained more than 25% in December amid heightened speculation that the US Federal Reserve might begin to lower interest rates in the coming months, ultimately driving bond prices higher. Nearly two-thirds of all trades in this fund were ‘buy’ orders.

Top 10 ETFs by Trades

1. SQQQ - ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF: 58.7%

2. TQQQ - ProShares UltraPro QQQ: 61.4%

3. BOIL - ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas: 44.7%

4. SOXS - Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares: 68.1%

5. LABU - Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X Shares ETF: 53.3%

6. TMF - Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares ETF: 62.8%

7. UVXY - ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF: 53.5%

8. VOO - Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF: 67.6%

9. SPY - SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust: 46.4%

10. LABD - Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares: 56.0%

While a host of familiar names were the primary focal points for money flow across US stocks in December, lesser-known Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) made a dramatic move up the list. Last month the online used-car retailer was the 7th most traded stock by value, with CVNA shares soaring 69%. The spike in Carvana’s share price prompted a wave of short-term trading interest, much of it sparked by a major broker upgrade from JP Morgan. The investment bank upgraded the stock from underweight to neutral, and lifted its price target to US$40 per share, which it had no trouble racing past.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) cracked the top 20 for the first time since we began documenting trading activity across the Selfwealth platform. The multinational pharmaceutical and medical-device company delivered a relatively subdued return last month, but it appears a select group of investors were banking on a positive update to come out of the company’s analyst day. In the lead-up to said event, analysts at UBS upgraded the stock to a ‘buy’ rating, while also upgrading their price target from US$167 to $US180 per share.

Both the Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: LABU) and Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: LABD) featured among the US stocks with the greatest money flow. They joined the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: SOXS) and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: SOXL), indicating that some investors remain happy to bet big in supporting their convictions towards popular investing thematics like semiconductors and biotechnology.

Top 20 Shares Traded by Value

1. NVDA - Nvidia: 52.3%

2. RIVN - Rivian: 49.6%

3. AAPL - Apple: 48.1%

4. TSLA - Tesla: 48.9%

5. ZS - Zscaler: 50.0%

6. SOXS - Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares ETF: 52.7%

7. CVNA - Carvana: 49.9%

8. SOXL - Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares ETF: 50.0%

9. GOOGL - Alphabet: 44.9%

10. LABU - Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X Shares ETF: 49.3%

11. TQQQ - ProShares UltraPro QQQ: 48.2%

12. LABD - Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares ETF: 46.2%

13. GME - GameStop: 39.8%

14. BAC - Bank of America: 47.3%

15. JNJ - Johnson & Johnson: 51.6%

16. AMZN - Amazon: 49.4%

17. COIN - Coinbase: 51.6%

18. UPRO - ProShares UltraPro S&P500: 50.5%

19. SQQQ - ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF: 52.6%

20. BOIL - ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas: 50.5%

Which US shares are the most held?

There is daylight between perennial favourite Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and the next most popular names in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). However, the two tech giants were among just a handful of top 20 names that saw the collective value of their holdings shrink last month, decreasing by 4.6% and 3.3% respectively. 

Buying in both of these stocks was still robust, but a disproportionate volume of sellers with larger portfolio holdings reduced their stakes in Apple and Microsoft, likely in the name of profit taking, or to divert funds into other tech stocks that performed well during the market-wide rally. 

Among these was Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), which in 8th spot, saw the value of its community holdings increase by 23.6%. This was considerably more than the underlying gain of 5.9% in NVDA shares, painting a clear picture that long-term buyers continue to pour into the semiconductor manufacturer.

Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) and GameStop (NYSE: GME) also made movements, gaining one and two spots respectively. At the end of the month, Palantir was ranked the 12th most popular US stock by value, and GameStop the 13th most held stock. 

GameStop’s ascent marked a reversal of fortunes, with the stock previously slipping four places across the preceding five months. Palantir’s share price languished throughout the month, and the stock was subject to widespread selling after being overlooked for inclusion in the S&P 500 and reports the US Army could reduce or choose not to renew its contract with Palantir. 

As to how PLTR managed to gain a spot, that was due to the Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: TMF) dropping out of the top 20 altogether.

As we touched on earlier, there was strong trading interest in Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) due to the resurgence in cryptocurrency prices. On the back of said buying, the cryptocurrency exchange platform joined the top 20 most held shares for the first time since July, 2021.

Most Held US Shares

1. TSLA - Tesla

2. AAPL - Apple

3. MSFT - Microsoft

4. GOOGL - Alphabet

5. RY - Royal Bank of Canada

6. AMZN - Amazon

7. BRK.B - Berkshire Hathaway

8. NVDA - Nvidia

9. META - Meta Platforms

10. BABA - Alibaba

11. VOO - VANGUARD 500 INDEX FUND; ETF

12. PLTR - Palantir

13. GME - GameStop

14. TQQQ - PROSHARES ULTRAPRO QQQ

15. AMD - Advanced Micro Devices

16. ARKK - ARK Innovation ETF

17. QQQ - INVESCO QQQ TRUST SERIES 1

18. PYPL - PayPal

19. ENB - Enbridge

20. COIN - Coinbase