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Sharesight20 top 20 trades in US stocks for 2020

by Stephanie Stefanovic, Content Manager, Sharesight | Dec 22nd 2020

Each year, Sharesight20 looks back at the top 20 buy and sell trades made by Sharesight users throughout the year. Welcome to the 2020 edition of the Sharesight20USA 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 these stocks.

Sharesight20 top 20 US stocks traded in 2020

Top20 USA Stocks NYSE+NASDAQ+AMEX

This yearly Sharesight20USA snapshot marks the rapid growth of US tech stocks including Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), as well as the rise of ‘COVID stocks’ such as Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX).

Overall, it has been a year of unprecedented growth and record-breaking performance for the Nasdaq, and while the NYSE and AMEX were hit hard by the initial Coronavirus lockdowns in parts of the USA in March, markets have almost buoyed back to pre-pandemic levels as we approach 2021.

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

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

January: Tesla outstrips Wall Street sales estimates; delivers 112,000 vehicles
April: Tesla records profit for third consecutive quarter
July: Tesla share price surges as Q2 profit eclipses analyst expectations
August: Tesla share price exceeds $2000 ahead of stock split
October: Tesla confirms plan to spend up to $12b on new electric car and battery factories
November: Tesla market cap surges past $500b USD as it prepares to debut on S&P 500
December: Tesla enters S&P 500 at weighting of 1.69%; fifth-largest company

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

March: Apple fined $2 billion by French anti-competition watchdog
May: Google and Apple release COVID-19 tracing software
July: Chinese iPhone sales soar by 225% in Q2
August: Apple is the first US company to hit $2 trillion market cap
September: Apple share price reaches record high before split
November: Apple shares fall despite better-than-expected earnings report
December: Asian supply chain hit as workers protest over unpaid wages and bonuses

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

March: Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft board; will remain technical advisor
July: Microsoft exceeds $50 billion in revenue in FY20
August: Microsoft the front-runner in bidding war over TikTok
October: Microsoft reports strong Q1 2021 results: Revenue up by 12%
December: Microsoft breached in suspected Russian cyber hack via SolarWinds

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)

March: Amazon to hire 100,000 US staff during Coronavirus lockdown
April: Amazon shares reach record high; company declared "COVID winner"
July: Amazon under fire over poor treatment of workers during pandemic
August: Accused of trying to wipe out rivals with consumer protection bill
November: Amazon’s surveillance of Australian workers may be considered illegal

Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS)

April: Disney stock rises as Disney+ subscriptions exceed 50 million
November: Positive vaccine news causes Disney stock to jump
December: Disney stock reaches all-time high; market cap now over $318 billion

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB)

May: Analysts bullish following launch of Facebook Shop
June: Companies across the globe declare Facebook ad boycott
July: Stock price rises due to TikTok troubles
December: Facebook stock price drops following antitrust lawsuits

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD)

January: AMD shares gained 148% in 2019; attributed to superior manufacturing process
August: AMD share price soars after Q2 earnings released
September: AMD stock surges following launch of graphics card to compete with Nvidia
October: AMD to buy rival chip maker Xilinx in $35 million all-stock deal
December: AMD stock posts all-time high; gains over 100% in 2020

Nio (NYSE: NIO)

February: COVID causes steep sales drop for Nio
April: Nio secures $1 billion investment in move to dispel shareholders’ cash flow concerns
July: Nio records impressive Q2 profits
August: Share price grows 240% YoY
October: Nio to develop its own computing chips for autonomous driving
November: Nio market cap surpasses BMW and General Motors
December: Nio’s stock price rose over 1,000% in 2020, but is it worth the risk?

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)

June: Mercedes-Benz and Nvidia partner to design next-gen supercomputer for autonomous vehicles
September: Nvidia to buy phone chip designer Arm Holdings for $40 billion
October: Nvidia building UK’s most powerful supercomputer for healthcare research (press release)

Alibaba (NYSE: BABA)

July: Alibaba arm Ant Group seeks IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong
August: Alibaba beats earnings expectations; profit fuelled by COVID-related demand
October: Alibaba to buy 22% of Ant shares in IPO
November: Alibaba loses almost $60 million in market cap due to retracted Ant IPO
December: Alibaba fined for antitrust violations in a first for Chinese government

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