Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)'s CommSec brokerage service tells us the most popular US shares that its Aussie investors were buying and selling the previous week.
Since CommSec is one of the most popular share trading platforms on the ASX, this data provides some useful insights into what is piquing the wallets of ASX investors beyond our shores.
My Fool colleague James Mickleboro has already covered some of the ASX's most popular shares today. So here are the top 10 US shares that CommSec users were buying and selling last week. This week's data covers 24-28 May.
Move over Tesla, AMC's in town
- AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) – representing 6.2% of total trades with a 58%/42% buy-to-sell ratio.
- GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) – representing 5.2% of total trades with a 77%/23% buy-to-sell ratio.
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 4.6% of total trades with a 66%/34% buy-to-sell ratio.
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.6% of total trades with a 66%/34% buy-to-sell ratio.
- Nio Inc – ADR (NYSE: NIO) – representing 1.3% of total trades with a 70%/30% buy-to-sell ratio.
- Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR)
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
- Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN)
- Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB)
- Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE)
What can we learn from these trades?
Well, a major coup in last week's data. The long-time dominator of the most popular US shares for ASX investors – the electric car and battery manufacturer Tesla – has been displaced after months at the top of the pile. ASX investors pushed Tesla aside last week for the American cinema chain AMC Entertainment. AMC has been a popular share for a while now on this list. But it has never cracked the top spot before (to this writer's knowledge, anyway).
AMC was a company hard hit in the pandemic last year, falling 68% between 14 February and 23 April. But it appears to be the object of some turnaround plays ever since. This has hit the next level over the past month or so since the infamous stock-picking group WallStreetBets seems to have taken up its cause. Back on 3 May, AMC was a US$9.70 share. Today, it's a US$26.12 one, having put on an astonishing 170% or so over the past month. No wonder ASX investors have taken notice. It also seems as though many of these investors are taking profits, with 42% of AMC trades last week being sells.
A changing of the guard?
The other popular US shares last week were also the subject of above-average selling pressure too. When we looked at the most popular US shares last week, Tesla was at the top of the pile with a 79%/21% buy-to-sell ratio. This week's numbers give us a 66%/34% ratio. So clearly some investors are ducking out of Tesla, perhaps to chase AMC shares. We see a similar pattern with GameStop.
In other news, this week sees the reemergence of Airbnb and Virgin Galactic after a few months of these companies seemingly dormant in the minds of ASX investors. Airbnb shares have actually been on the back foot in the past month, losing around 17% of their value. 85% of Airbnb trades were buys though, so there are obviously at least some investors who are 'buying the dip' there. But Virgin Galactic has rocketed more than 100% since 14 May, so it's not hard to see why investors are chasing that one.
It will be interesting to see if this week's stats prove a blip, or else some kind of realignment when we check out next week's numbers!
