Apple shares, up over 40% this year, were the most-traded stock by retail investors this year, according to a report from TD Ameritrade. The 7-to-1 stock split in June surely made it easier for retail investors to trade the stock, which, post-split, came under $100, compared to $645 per share previously.
Other popular stocks among retail investors
Apart from being the most-traded stock, Apple was also a favorite among retail investors when it comes to buying and holding a stock. Microsoft was at the fourth spot in terms of buy and hold but could not be included in the top 10 for the most-traded stocks among customers of TD Ameritrade, which is one of the largest online discount brokerage firms.
Social networking platforms Facebook and Twitter were also among the stocks that were highly traded, but they were not widely held. The report suggested the majority of the 10 most-held stocks among Ameritrade clients are the largest or mega-cap companies. However, momentum stocks like Tesla, Netflix and Amazon were among the most-traded ones. Stocks that fell during the year and were among the most heavily traded by Ameritrade customers were Twitter, Amazon.com and Netflix.
According to JJ Kinahan, the brokerage’s chief strategist, in recent years retail investors have become more sophisticated. Kinahan said investors learned a very important lesson during the financial crisis: that they should decide their investment strategy on their own.
“Our data show that retail investors often cut back before market dips and get in ahead of rallies, which shows that they got a lot smarter,” he added.
Since Apple started selling iPhones in 2007, there has been no stopping the company’s growth. At that time, the stock was $12 (adjusted for stock splits), and now it’s well over $100. Revenue for the company came in at $183 billion in fiscal 2014. Out of total revenue, around $102 billion was contributed by the iPhone. In 2007, revenue for the company was $24 billion.
Despite the impressive show, the iPhone maker should be concerned about its smartphone market share. According to a report from IDC, Apple has a smartphone market share of 11.7%, compared to Android’s 84.4%. The risk here is that if developers design apps for Android, then Apple’s iPhone software, iOS, will become second class. This will limit the reach of the iPhone, thus affecting the business, says a report from Business Insider.