We Fools like to occasionally take a peek at which shares have been most popular on the share market boards in recent times. Today, we've already checked out the most popular ASX shares, so now let's have a look at which US shares ASX investors have been chasing recently.
This data comes from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)'s CommSec platform, which is the most widely used broker in Australia. As such, I think it gives us a pretty good idea of what the broader trends are. So without further ado, here are the top US shares Aussies were trading last week (10–14 August).
Most popular US shares:
1) Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
You just can't keep Elon Musk's baby in a corner. Tesla, an electric car and battery manufacturer, was once again in the spotlight last week. A likely catalyst for this renewed interest was the company announcing a 5-for-1 stock split, which will see the price of Tesla shares cut 5 ways when it goes through later this month. Seeing as one Tesla share will set an Aussie investor back around $2,540 today (US$1,835), the move to split the shares was evidently welcomed. This company's share price is now up 327%, year to date. Next stop, Mars?
2) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Apple is our second most popular US stock for Aussies this week and I'm sensing a theme here. Apple is another company that has just announced an August stock split — this time 4-for-1. It won't have the dramatic results of the Tesla share split, seeing as Apple shares were most recently trading for US$458. Still, it wasn't getting in the way of Aussies picking up shares of the iPhone maker last week.
3) Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
No stock split news from Microsoft last week, but that didn't stop Australian investors giving this giant the bronze medal. Microsoft has been high in demand this year, despite its gargantuan market capitalisation (currently US$1.59 trillion). Microsoft has several facets that are deemed to be 'pandemic proof', such as its Xbox gaming division and successful remote working software Teams. It's traditional products like Office and Windows are also remarkably resilient and give this company a massive stream of recurring revenue. No wonder Aussies are keen to have this giant in their portfolios.
4) Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO)
Nio is actually a Chinese company that is only listed on the New York Stock Exchange as an ADR (American Depositary Receipt). Even so, it hasn't stopped Aussies from wanting a slice of this Tesla rival. Nio is China's answer to Tesla and is striving to showcase a growing portfolio of electric vehicles of its own. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for Nio shareholders over the past year, with Nio shares fluctuating between US$1.19 and US$16.44 at various points. Talk about a bumpy road!
5) Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX)
Our final US share this week is this Maryland-based vaccine manufacturer. Looking at this company's share price over 2020 so far is enough to give you a headache – Novavax shares are up more than 3,500% since the start of 2020. Speculation that this company will play a large role in the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine seems to be behind the optimism for this company. Hopefully, it comes to pass — otherwise, it's Novavax investors who might end up getting a jab.
