Author: Alex Barrat
Buying the Baba dip
It’s not been a great year for Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma. Since he openly criticised Chinese authorities, Alibaba and its financial affiliate Ant Group have been plagued by increased attention from Chinese regulators. So far in 2021, Alibaba’s stock has slumped 27%, something that has dragged down all Chinese listed stocks.
However, as tensions ease, investors are taking the chance to buy the dip. And at the start of September, it was one of Stake’s top 10 most traded stocks. A buy-to-sell ratio of 4.7 suggests investors are buying and holding the e-commerce giant. The platform average is approximately two buys for every sell.
Top 5 Most Traded Stocks
Despite Alibaba’s popularity on Stake this month, it wasn’t enough for it to break into our top 5 most traded stocks list. Again, the list is dominated by tech stocks, including the data-analytics company Palantir. The controversial company, which works with governments and security agencies around the world, received a boost on news that it had landed a large government contract with the US Army.
- Tesla (TSLA)
- Apple (AAPL)
- Microsoft (MSFT)
- Palantir (PLTR)
- Nvidia (NVDA)
Top 5 Hottest Stocks
There’s been a lot of talk about Lucid becoming the new Tesla. Founded by two former Tesla and Mazda execs, the luxury electric car manufacturer announced that it had started production of its US$170k Lucid Air Dream Edition, and deliveries of the first cars off its production line would commence later this month.
The news sent the company’s stock skyward. Since the beginning of September, it’s up over 33%.
- Lucid Group (LCID)
- ProShares 1.5x Long Volatility (UVXY)
- Direxion 3x Bull Semiconductor ETF (SOXL)
- Upstart (UPST)
- 3x Inverse FANG+ ETF (FNGD)
Getting choppy
The S&P500 just returned its worst month of the year, down almost 5% for September. As a result, your portfolio may have given up some of the gains the market generously delivered so far in 2021. However, one of the benefits of investing in the US markets through Stake is the ability to make the most of volatile or falling markets. A range of ETFs exist to ensure investors are able to make gains regardless of market conditions.
Inverse ETFs like $SQQQ move up when the market moves down. $FNGD provides inverse exposure to the big tech stocks, like Tesla, and the FANGs was one of the hottest on the platform towards the end of the month.
Similarly, the VIX measures volatility or market fear. It rises with uncertainty and falls during calm market periods. Securities like VXX and UVXY give investors exposure to the VIX index. $UVXY is consistently in Stake’s Top 20 whenever volatility enters the market. That trend continued in September as the VIX rose to levels not seen since June.
It’s worth noting, such options are typically traded by more experienced investors. The adage is, if you can’t explain how they work, they don’t belong in your portfolio.
Be aware such products are recommended for more experienced investors.
Alex Barrat is a self-proclaimed chart enthusiast, known for his unique and fresh take on the US markets. As part of the team at Stake, he’s the writer behind their weekly look at what’s going on in the market, The Wrap.
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