13:03 - 10.07.2018

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In a quarter marked by trade wars and political instability, the U.S. juggernaut in e-commerce Amazon rank as the most traded stock on Saxo Bank’s trading platforms SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO.

Saxo Bank, the leading Fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, announces the three most traded equities in Q2 2018 from the global equity offering on its trading platforms.

Peter Garnry, Head of Equity Strategy, comments on the three most traded equities (measured as Net Traded Volume) as well as the three most shorted equities (CFDs), based on the number of clients shorting the equities:

Most traded equities

The most traded stocks at Saxo Bank are still technology companies due to their attractive price performance and name recognition. What has changed in recent years is that the top list is getting more dominated by Chinese technology companies as global investors are finally recognizing the growth opportunities in Chinese technology.

1. Amazon: The juggernaut in e-commerce and cloud infrastructure continues to impress investors and Saxo Bank’s clients have bought into the roaring growth story. Amazon delivers every quarter despite its revenue is expected to move past the USD 200bn mark in Q2.

 

2. Alibaba: The fastest growing e-commerce market in the world and the most dominate player in that industry is difficult to resist for investors making Alibaba the second most traded stock. Strong price performance and increased developed markets media focus on Chinese technology companies are likely the biggest drivers of big activity in this stock

3. Facebook: Post the Cambridge Analytica scandal investors have been buying into the rebound story as concerns over regulation has eased. The stock price has reached new highs supporting a lot of client activity.

Most shorted equities

In general, we find clients to hold significant short positions in popular technology stocks in what looks like an aggregate bet against what some investors call “bubble stocks” because they exhibit rather large valuation premiums.

1. Tesla: The most shorted stock among clients as the company has struggled with delivering against expectations communicated to the market on Model 3 production. Tesla has divided investors and analysts with the upcoming Q2 results being heralded as crucial for Tesla as the market is likely reaching the end of patience with Tesla to deliver on producing Model 3 cars. So far shorts have had a hard time shorting Tesla shares as Elon Musk’s showmanship has continued to gather renewed belief in the company supporting the shares.

2. Facebook: The second most shorted stock driven by high valuation and the recent Cambridge Analytica data scandal shaking investor confidence and causing US Senate and EU Parliament hearings. Despite the recent scandal Facebook shares have reached new highs making life difficult for short sellers in Facebook. The company continues to have robust growth with monetization of Instagram and Messenger/WhatsApp having just started.
3. Apple: With rumours about lackluster demand for the new iPhone X the stock price has been more volatile recently and with general saturation of global smartphone market short sellers are betting on Apple to get squeezed on profits. But for now it has been a tough shorting case as Apple continues to increase revenue and operating profits driven increasingly by strong sales of digital content.

Local markets, top traded stocks

 

MENA:

1. NVidia Corp.
2. Amazon.com Inc.
3. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd

APAC:

1. Micron Technology Inc.
2. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
3. Amazon.com Inc.

CEE:

1. Facebook Inc.
2. Apple Inc.
3. Amazon.com Inc.

Nordic:

1. Amazon.com Inc.
2. Pandora A/S
3. Vestas Wind Systems A/S

France:

1. Amazon.com Inc.
2. Apple Inc.
3. Intesa SanPaolo SpA

Italy:

1. Amazon.com Inc.
2. Apple Inc.
3. Atlantia SpA

Switzerland:

1. Amazon.com Inc.
2. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
3. Facebook Inc.