ASX investors were buying GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares last week

Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)'s brokerage platform CommSec tells us the most popular international shares (which are usually just US shares) that its ASX investors have been trading the previous week.

CommSec is one of the most widely used brokers in Australia. Because of this, this data can give us a valuable window into the US shares that ASX investors are finding enticing. So here are the top 10 US shares that CommSec-ers were buying and selling last week. This week's data covers 12-16 July.

Nothing can keep GameStop down

1. GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) – representing 3.3% of total trades with an 89%/11% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 3.2% of total trades with a 72%/28% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 2.9% of total trades with a 61%/39% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) – representing 2.5% of total trades with a 65%/35% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE) – representing 1.6% of total trades with a 49%/51% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)
7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
8. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
9. Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO)
10. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA)

What can we learn from these trades?

That the meme is strong for one. Yes, 'meme stock' king GameStop is back at the top of this pile, displacing the giant Apple as well as perennial ASX favourite Tesla. Even more interestingly, 89% of GameStop trades last week were in the 'buy' column.

This coincides with GameStop shares hitting their lowest level since May recently. Clearly, there are more than a few investors hoping for another one of those lucrative 'pops'.

We see a less-enthusiastic commitment to other meme stocks like AMC, Nio and Virgin Galactic. Although, in saying that, Virgin Galactic investors appear to be more inclined to bail out than buy more, with 51% of trades in the 'sell' column.

Ever since Sir Richard's successful space flight earlier this month, investors have been stampeding to the exits. Since 8 July (3 days before the flight), Virgin Galactic shares have lost more than 38% of their value. Imagine what would have happened if it wasn't a successful flight!

We still see bubbling affection for the US big tech blue chips like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Apple in particular maintains a dominant position in this week's numbers, even pipping Tesla with its 72% 'buy' bias.

This week's report also marks the return of chipmaker NVIDIA after a few weeks' absence. NVIDIA has been on an exceptional run lately, rising roughly 50% between 13 May and 6 July. That's a pretty significant move from what is now a company with a market capitalisation of US$468 billion.