ASX investors were buying Tesla and Apple shares last week

Which US shares were ASX investors buying last week?

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published July 13, 2021 4:45 pm AEST

Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)'s share trading service CommSec tells us the most popular US shares that its ASX investors have been trading the previous week.

Since CommSec is one of the most widely used brokers in Australia, this information can give us an interesting window into what ASX investors are finding exciting over in the USA right now. My Fool colleague James has already taken a look at CommSec's most popular ASX shares today. But here are the top 10 US shares that CommSec users were trading last week. This week's data covers 5-9 July.

A businesman's hands surround a circular graphic with a United States flag and dollar signs, indicating buying and selling US shares — Image source: Getty Images

Tesla in the driving seat, but Apple looking sweet

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 3.5% of total trades with a 67%/33% buy-to-sell ratio.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.8% of total trades with a 55%/45% buy-to-sell ratio.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) – representing 2.6% of total trades with a 93%/7% buy-to-sell ratio.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) – representing 2% of total trades with a 79%/21% buy-to-sell ratio.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) – representing 2% of total trades with a 66%/44% buy-to-sell ratio.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO)
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE)
Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG)

What can we learn from these trades?

That old habits die hard. Last week, we saw Nasdaq newcomer DiDi Global Inc (NYSE: DIDI) make an appearance here after its recent IPO.

Well, this week, we saw the old favourites of ASX investors reclaim their dominance. Electric vehicle and battery manufacturer Tesla is back on top, with investors going from a pretty even buy/sell split last week to decidedly biased towards the buy side this week. That coincides neatly with an 11% increase in the Tesla share price over the past month.

Apple also climbs from 5th spot last week to number 2 this week. Unlike Tesla though, investors are still pretty split down the middle when it comes to buying and selling.

In other news, we see many of the same faces returning. 'Meme stocks' like Nio, AMC and GameStop remain popular, as do the US tech blue chips like Apple, Microsoft and Alibaba (which is actually a Chinese company, but US listed). In that vein, we also see the return of Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet after a few weeks' absence.

It's interesting to note that Virgin Galactic retains its presence after several weeks of obscurity prior to last week. Perhaps Sir Richard Branson's well-publicised space flight the other day has inspired some investors.

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