Key takeaways:

• Tech stocks were the major movers last month, while Reddit names remain active trades

Following a record-setting opening to the year, US indexes saw their gains pared last month. Investors reassessed their expectations for interest rates, with a surprise inflation result also suggesting that it may take some effort to drive consumer prices lower.

The Nasdaq outperformed its peers, however, it still fell by 1.1%. On the other hand, the S&P 500 shed 2.6%, while the Dow Jones wiped out its January gains courtesy of a 4.2% decline.

With tech holding up better than the rest of the market, and several high-profile names performing strongly, we take a look at what Selfwealth members bought and sold last month.

US share trading activity

Aside from the usual suspects, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) was one name that garnered significant buying attention during February. The conglomerate, which is run by none other than Warren Buffett, offers exposure to utilities, insurance, oil and gas, among other holdings. It appears the thought of buying into these themes amid rising interest rates resonated with Selfwealth members, with approximately nine out of every ten trades in BRK being buy orders. In fact, the buy-to-sell ratio for Berkshire Hathaway was higher than any other popular trade last month, including the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (NYSE: VOO) and Alphabet, which traditionally command significant buying interest.Meanwhile, former Reddit favourite GameStop (NYSE: GME) is no longer attracting the same sort of buying interest it once did. Although the stock features within the top 20 according to trades, ranking 13th, the buy-to-sell ratio sits at a paltry 31.7%. That means nearly seven out of every ten trades in GME last month were sell orders. Given the stock sharp sell-off over the course of February, it seems as though some investors have given up on the former community darling.On the other hand, another long-time short squeeze candidate Bed Bath & Beyond (NYSE: BBBY) features within the top 20 for the first time. Historically, BBBY registry has shared the same type of investors as those interested in GameStop. This gives rise to the possibility that some investors have rotated out of GME and into BBBY. While the stock actually lost ground over February, it did have a brief moment in the sun when its share price more than doubled following a short squeeze driven by rumours of financing for the company to stay afloat.Top 20 stocks by tradesCode Security

Buy-sell Ratio

1. Tesla 70.2%

2. 2GOOGLAlphabet

3. 82.6%

4. 3SQQQProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF

5. 58.9%

6. 4MSFTMicrosoft

7. 79.4%

8. 5AMZNAmazon

9. 70.9%

10. 6TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ

11. 50.8%

12. 7AAPLApple

13. 50.4%

14. 8NVDANvidia

15. 38.3%

16. 9BOILProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas

17. 69.6%

18. 10METAMeta Platforms

19. 41.3%

20. 11SOXSDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares

21. 53.7%

22. 12SOXLDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares

23. 52.3%

24. 13GMEGameStop

25. 31.7%

26. 14BBBYBed Bath & Beyond

27. 64.1%

28. 15BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway

29. 89.5%

30. 16AMDAdvanced Micro Devices

31. 61.1%

32. 17BABAAlibaba

33. 80.0%

34. 18VOOVanguard 500 Index Fund ETF

35. 88.6%

36. 19PLTRPalantir

37. 45.2%

38. 20NFLXNetflix

39. 36.7%

Not only were they popular trades by volume, but Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) were also the second and fourth most traded stocks by value. That suggests a high level of conviction in these names among those buying and selling. More broadly, it is also representative of the underlying interest in tech stocks that has been a common sight across the Selfwealth community for the best part of the last couple years.As we've seen over recent months, thematic ETFs continue to provide a playground' of sorts for bulls and bears to battle it out as far as the outlook for key sectors and industries. Last month saw the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: SOXS), Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: SOXL), ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (NYSE: BOIL), and the Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: LABD) all feature among the most traded equities by value.Buy-now pay-later stock Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) also made the cut last month. Despite being down nearly 60% over the last year, and concerns emanating from the sector around bad debts in the face of rising interest rates, the volatility of the stock is proving to be a drawcard for traders. The stock attracted buying interest in the opening days of the month before its share price was hammered after it delivered an earnings miss when it reported second-quarter results.Last month data also suggests that some investors are dialling into the Treasury bond market. By trade values, the Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: TMF) ranked 19th across all US equities on the Selfwealth platform, with nearly two-thirds being inflows into the stock. TMF tracks the performance of the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index, which is a topical theme at this time as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode Security

Buy-sell Ratio

1SQQQProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF

50.7%

2AAPLApple

49.5%

3TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ

49.8%

4GOOGLAlphabet

51.3%

5MSFTMicrosoft

54.3%

6TSLATesla

60.8%

7SOXSDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares

50.0%

8SOXLDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares

51.1%

9BOILProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas

66.9%

10NVDANvidia

40.6%

11NFLXNetflix

49.4%

12AMZNAmazon

55.3%

13LABDDirexion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares

38.1%

14AFRMAffirm

48.9%

15BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway

97.8%

16AMDAdvanced Micro Devices

43.2%

17RDFNRedfin

50.5%

18METAMeta Platforms

26.6%

19TMFDirexion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares ETF

63.1%

20FNGDBank of Montreal MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN

50.4%

Which US shares are the most held?

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) maintains a commanding lead out in front of the pack as the most popular US holding in the Selfwealth community. Holdings grew by almost 30% in value last month, well ahead of the 18.8% increase in the EV-maker share price over that period. At the end of February, the value of TSLA holdings reached the third highest on record, and the highest since July, 2022.Moving one spot higher, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) became the ninth most popular holding on the Selfwealth platform. The stock gained 17.4% across the course of the month, with the company earnings a key catalyst for the re-rate. Shares of the Facebook parent company leapt in response to positive signs regarding user engagement and lower cost guidance for the full year.Elsewhere, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) offer proof that there is still a heartbeat in the semiconductor segment. The pair finished the month in 11th, up one spot, and 18th position, up two spots, respectively. Nvidia was the second-best performing stock on the S&P 500 in February. Its fourth-quarter results beat forecasts on both the top and bottom line, and the company signalled an upbeat view regarding AI sales. Canadian duo Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) and BCE (NYSE: BCE) round out the major changes to the top 20 most held US stocks. The pair return to the list following a short absence, building out the theme that has seen several Canadian stocks command interest over the last year.US StockCompany1TSLATesla2AAPLApple3RYRoyal Bank of Canada4MSFTMicrosoft5GOOGLAlphabet6AMZNAmazon7BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway8BABAAlibaba9METAMeta Platforms10GMEGameStop11NVDANvidia12VOOVanguard 500 Index Fund ETF13ENBEnbridge14ARKKARK Innovation ETF15TDToronto-Dominion Bank16QQQInvesco QQQ Trust Series 117AMDAdvanced Micro Devices18TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ19PLTRPalantir20BCEBCE

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