The Most Traded Stocks by TipRanks Investors in March 2023

March remained a choppy trading month for investors following the collapse of beleaguered lender Silicon Valley Bank and crypto bank Silvergate Capital. News from the banking sector took the spotlight throughout the month, with First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) being bailed out and Swiss lender Credit Suisse being taken over.   

Despite the negative sentiment, all three major U.S. indices ended March on a positive note. Meanwhile, year-to-date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has managed to be marginally in the green, whereas the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) indices are up 7.46% and 21.35%, respectively.

Importantly, traders found buying opportunities even amidst the chaos. To better understand March’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

iPhone maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) regained its leading position from electric vehicle (EV) venture Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which was the most bought stock in February 2023.

The technology giant is constantly in the news for its technological advancements and innovations aimed to capture a larger share of the market. From deploying more and more capital to create a manufacturing hub in India, to trying to win a bid for streaming the English Premier League, Apple is disrupting the markets on all fronts. In its most interesting foray, Apple launched its Apple Pay Later plan to disrupt the burgeoning buy now, pay later industry. Moreover, the relaxation of Zero-COVID policies in China has helped boost iPhone sales in March and will continue to bump up demand in the future.

Is Apple a Buy, Hold, or Sell?

Based on Apple’s continued innovation and growing market share, Wall Street analysts are highly optimistic about its stock trajectory. On TipRanks, AAPL commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 24 Buys, five Holds, and one Sell rating. Also, the average Apple price target of $171.74 implies 3.4% upside potential from current levels. Meanwhile, AAPL stock has gained 33% so far in 2023.

As seen from the buying pattern of investors, March was a tech-laden month, with six out of the top 10 most bought stocks belonging to that sector. Having said that, there were a few interesting shuffles in the most-bought stock list. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) raced up to the seventh spot from the ninth (February) as investors cheered its reorganization plan to split into six units.  

Similarly, while investors shunned banking stocks owing to the meltdown, global lender Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) entered the list in the tenth spot and displaced Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) from its eighth spot in February. Here is a full list of the most bought stocks in March:

1. Apple
2. Tesla
3. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
4. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
5. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)
6. Alphabet Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG)
7. Alibaba
8. Alphabet Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
9. Nio (NYSE:NIO)
10. Bank of America

Most Sold Stocks

Just as there were several buyers for Apple stock, so were sellers of AAPL, which took the number one position in March’s most-sold stocks list. Apple was followed by Tesla as the most-sold stock. The selling trends for the month also show that technology stocks continue to dominate the trading habits of investors.

Year-to-date, the TSLA stock has zoomed over 80%. Tesla’s China deliveries suffered a setback owing to the COVID-19-related lockdowns and supply chain snarls. However, the Chinese market is opening now, which should ramp up Tesla’s manufacturing and delivery processes. Recently, Tesla announced that its Q1 vehicle deliveries grew 36% year-over-year to 422,875, but still fell short of analysts’ estimates. Analysts believe that Tesla might have to undertake more price cuts to fight competition and improve deliveries. Plus, the EV maker needs to boost production at its Giga factories to improve delivery lead times.

What is Tesla Stock Forecast?

Analysts remain split on Tesla’s stock trajectory. On TipRanks, Tesla has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 20 Buys, ten Holds, and three Sell ratings. Also, the average Tesla price forecast of $218.50 implies 12.2% upside potential from current levels.

Coming back to the list, here are March’s top 10 most-sold stocks. In a surprise move, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) entered the most- sold stocks list at number eight and displaced Alphabet Class C stock. Similarly, Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), which was at number 10 in February, exited the list, and the spot was taken over by Alibaba.

1. Apple
2. Tesla
3. Amazon.com
4. Nvidia
5. Microsoft
6. Alphabet Class A
7. Meta Platforms
8. Advanced Micro Devices
9. Nio
10. Alibaba

Most Held Stocks

Thanks to the market turmoil and the resultant correction in stock prices, investors used the opportunity to buy and hold shares of top companies to benefit from the recovery in their prices. The most-held stock list closely resembles the most-bought list, with a few exceptions. American lidar technology company, Ouster (NYSE:OUST), was a new entrant in the seventh place in the most-held stocks list for March, and Bank of America was not part of the top ten.

Is OUST a Good Stock to Buy?

Ouster went public in March 2021 through a combination with a special- purpose acquisition company (SPAC). With two Buys and two Hold ratings, Ouster has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. Plus, the average Ouster stock prediction of $1.31 implies a massive 70.7% upside potential from current levels. Year-to-date, OUST stock has lost 20.1%.

Here is the full list of the 10 most-held stocks in March.

1. Tesla
2. Apple
3. Amazon.com
4. Microsoft
5. Nvidia
6. Alphabet Class C
7. Ouster
8. Alibaba
9. Alphabet Class A
10. Nio

We will be back soon with the most-traded stocks of April 2023. Until then, stay ahead of the market by tracking your own portfolio’s performance easily, with a Smart Portfolio on TipRanks.

Disclosure