Sharesight users' top 20 trades in US stocks for 2021

Each year, Sharesight looks back at the top 20 buy and sell trades made by Sharesight users throughout the year. Welcome to the 2021 edition of our annual trading snapshot, where we explore the top trades users have made in stocks on the Nasdaq, NYSE and AMEX this year, plus the market-moving news behind them.

Top 20 US stocks traded in 2021

In this annual snapshot, trades were led by Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Gamestop (NYSE: GME). Indeed, this year marked the rapid rise of the ‘meme stock’ trend with stocks like GameStop, AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) and Blackberry (NYSE: BB) peaking earlier in the year. Sharesight users also concentrated their trading on tech stocks such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Overall, it was another year of strong returns for US markets, with stocks flourishing significantly after bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.

Let’s look at the news behind the key stocks in this year’s snapshot:

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

• January: Tesla approved to receive a portion of US$3.5 billion EU battery aid

• February: Tesla shares slip, bringing Musk down to the world’s second-richest person

• March: Tesla cars banned from Chinese military due to fear of spying

• May: Tesla’s fifth week of share price decline is their longest weekly losing streak in three years

• July: Tesla suffers a US$23 million loss in Q2 after falling bitcoin prices

• August: Share price falls after an investigation into the safety of Tesla’s self-driving technology is launched

• October: Tesla’s market value reaches US$1 trillion as Hertz orders 100,000 cars

• December: Announces lithium factory to be built next to Berlin Gigafactory

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

• January: Apple has its best Indian quarter; iPhone shipments up 100% YoY

• February: Warren Buffett sells US$7.4 billion worth of Apple shares

• May: Inflation fears send Apple stock back to August 2020 levels

• July: Apple profits double amid increased consumer spending and growing optimism

• September: Key suppliers halt production due to Beijing’s new energy restrictions

• November: Apple shares hit record high as company announces plans to build a self-driving car

GameStop (NYSE: GME)

• January: GameStop shares skyrocket after Elon Musk’s tweet; value increases by US$4 billion

• March: Shares have been 6x more volatile than Bitcoin

• July: GameStop added to S&P 400 Index

• August: GameStop surges 27% to lead meme stocks

• September: Gamestop share price declines 7% after Q2 loss

• October: COO leaves company after 7 months

AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC)

• February: AMC stock prices plummet as Reddit meme stocks sell out

• May: AMC issues US$8.5 million shares to Mudrick Capital Management

• June: AMC embraces meme stock status and soars by 96%

• September: AMC announces it will accept Cryptocurrencies for theater tickets by end of year

• October: Disney’s announcement of movie delays drops AMC stock by 14% in one week

• November: Plans to launch retail popcorn business

Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR)

• February: Palantir’s revenue from government contracts jumps 85% and 4% in commercial segment in Q4

• April: Nuclear agency awards Palantir US$90 million contract for Data Platform

• May: Palantir shares rise 7% following the announcement of accepting bitcoin payment

• July: Palantir introduces Foundry for Builders – a software to help early-stage companies

• October: Share price jumps 7% after Palantir secures U.S army contract for ‘intelligence data fabric’

• December: Secures additional US$43 million contract from Space Systems Command

Nio (NYSE: NIO)

• January: Nio doubled car deliveries in 2020

• February: Nio enters expansion phase; analysts declare it a ‘buy’

• March: Chip shortage causes Nio to halt production; lowers output projection

• July: Nio share prices fall 9% as regulatory crackdowns cause Chinese stock selloff

• August: Nio reports revenue growth of 127% in Q2 earnings report

• December: Nio shares drop on delisting concerns

Alibaba (NYSE: BABA)

• January: Alibaba under investigation over the founder's disappearance; stock prices tumble

• March: Alibaba told to sell off tech assets in a Chinese government crackdown

• May: Alibaba records first quarterly loss since IPO

• August: Alibaba stock hits its lowest point since October 2019

• October: Alibaba has lost US$344 billion YoY in world's biggest tumble

• December: Plans to restructure e-commerce business; appoint new CFO

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

• January: Microsoft hits US$40 billion in quarterly sales for the first time, eclipsing expectations

• March: Receives over US$193 million in COVID relief funds for US cybersecurity defenders

• July: Documents record-breaking year, exceeding US$60 billion in earnings

• August: Microsoft stock hits all-time high following subscription price increase announcement

• September: Microsoft confirms a dividend hike; announces US$60 billion share repurchase plan

• December: Microsoft to hit US$6 trillion market cap in under 6 months, says analyst

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN)

• February: Amazon plans to create 3,000 jobs with Boston office expansion

• March: Amazon sued over gruelling working conditions in US warehouse

• May: Amazon shares hit record high following better-than-expected earnings report

• July: Amazon denies it will accept cryptocurrencies as payment; causes Bitcoin to tumble

• August: Investors unimpressed with Amazon’s Q2 2021 earnings

• October: Amazon accused of lying to Congress about business practices

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)

• February: Nvidia’s new gaming software halts mining of cryptocurrency

• March: New Nintendo switch model to use upgraded Nvidia chip

• April: Nvidia stock slumps after UK regulator flagged US$40 billion Arm deal on national security concerns

• June: Nvidia’s share prices jump 5% after CEO talks about ARM merger

• October: EU regulators open investigation of Nvidia chip designer Arm purchase

• December: FTC argues that Nvidia-Arm deal could threaten market for networking, self-driving car chips

GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO)

• February: GoPro stock falls following weaker-than-expected earnings report

• March: Stock skyrockets 55% in March despite no clear catalyst; possibly due to influence of WallStBets

• May: Hits 750k subscription milestone, a 150% increase YoY

• August: GoPro stock surges on strong Q2 earnings, driven by subscription numbers

• November: Share price gains momentum following analyst approval

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB)

• January: BlackBerry share prices hit a 9-year high after a deal with China’s Baidu for self-driving cars was announced

• February: Share price plummets following a ratings downgrade

• March: Share price falls amid patent-sale negotiations

• July: BlackBerry announces a new 5G smartphone

• August: U.S agencies announce a flaw in BlackBerry’s cybersecurity software could impact cars and medical devices

• September: BlackBerry beats quarterly revenue expectations due to strong demand for cybersecurity and IoT products

Facebook (Meta) (NASDAQ: FB)

• January: US govt. asks Australia to retract proposed law requiring Facebook and Google to pay for news

• April: Mark Zucherberg has sold over US$1 billion in Facebook stock in 2021

• June: Facebook stock hits an all-time high after judge dismisses FTC complaint

• July: Trump sues Facebook over 2 year social media ban

• October: Facebook posts US$9 billion profit for Q3

• November: Facebook officially rebrands as ‘Meta’

Square (Block) (NYSE: SQ)

• February: Square buys US$170 million more Bitcoin

• March: Buys majority of music streaming service, Tidal for US$297 million

• May: Square’s Q1 revenue rises US$5 billion, up 266% YoY, largely from Bitcoin revenue gains

• July: Announces the making of a hardware wallet for Bitcoin in efforts to make Bitcoin custody more mainstream

• August: Square to acquire AfterPay for US$29 billion

• December: Rebrands as ‘Block’

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD)

• April: AMD share price jumps 3% after record quarterly sales

• May: AMD announces US$4 billion share repurchase program

• July: AMD shares increase 6.4% following Q2 earnings of US$3.85 billion in sales

• September: Announces acquisition of Xilinx (XLNX), semiconductor manufacturing company by end of year

• October: AMD revenue rises 54% YoY to US$4.31 billion beating estimates by $200 million

Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS)

• March: Disney stock hits all-time high

• April: Multi-year deal gives Disney access to Sony’s library and rights to new movies after they stream on Netflix

• July: Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over ‘Black Widow’ streaming release

• August: Disney stock price hits 4-month high as US parks reopening book profit

• October: Disney downgraded by leading broker as Disney+ growth slows

• December: Disney appoints first female board chair

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Disclaimer: The above article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a product recommendation, or taxation or financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. Always check with your financial adviser or accountant to obtain the correct advice for your situation.

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