February remained a volatile month for the stock markets. A strong jobs report, a resilient consumer, and steadily growing inflation are increasing the prospects of a recession. All three major U.S. indices ended February on a negative note. Meanwhile, year-to-date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is in the red, whereas the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) indices managed to remain in the green.
While February put a pause on January’s market rally, several investors found buying opportunities in the declining stock prices. To better understand February’s trading patterns, we looked into the month’s Buy, Sell, and Hold transactions of the 6K+ investors who hold a TipRanks Smart Portfolio.
Most Bought Stocks
Billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) venture Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has taken the top spot in February’s most-bought stocks list. The EV maker has dethroned the iPhone maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which was the most bought stock in the whole of 2022.
A series of price cuts for its EVs across markets and production ramp-ups kept Tesla shares elevated during the year. TSLA stock has zoomed 83% so far in 2023, with a 13.4% gain coming in February. Despite the supply chain snarls and unfavorable macro backdrop, Tesla remains confident about its future course. The company is investing aggressively in capacity expansion and has recently announced plans to build a massive EV plant in Mexico.
Is Tesla a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Despite the bright future for EVs worldwide, analysts have mixed views on Tesla. On TipRanks, TSLA stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 13 Buy, three Hold, and two Sell ratings. Also, the average Tesla price target of $205.69 implies 7.8% upside potential from current levels.
As seen from the buying pattern of investors, February was a tech-laden month, with seven out of the top 10 most bought stocks belonging to that sector. Here is a full list of the most bought stocks in February:
- Tesla
- Apple
- Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
- Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)
- Alphabet Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG)
- Alphabet Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
- Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
- Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)
- Nio (NYSE:NIO)
Most Sold Stocks
Interestingly, Tesla also remained the most sold stock in February, followed by chip maker Nvidia in the second spot. The selling trends for the month also show that technology stocks continue to dominate the trading habits of investors.
Year-to-date, NVDA stock has rallied 62.9%, with an 11.3% jump coming in February. Better-than-expected earnings results and a shifting focus on an AI-dominated world are boosting Nvidia’s growth prospects. Having said that, other semiconductor players, namely Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), stand to benefit the most from the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act, leaving Nvidia behind.
Is NVDA Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Owing to the fierce competition in the chips space, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on NVDA stock. This is based on 24 Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating. Further, the average Nvidia stock forecast of $258.42 implies 10.8% upside potential from current levels.
Coming back to the list, here are February’s top 10 most-sold stocks:
- Tesla
- Nvidia
- Microsoft
- Amazon.com
- Apple
- Meta Platforms
- Alphabet Class C
- Alphabet Class A
- Nio
- Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)
We will be back soon with the most-traded stocks of March 2023. Until then, stay ahead of the market by tracking your own portfolio’s performance easily, with a Smart Portfolio on TipRanks.
