September has historically been a down month for stocks and this year also it was no less. With August’s inflation hotter than expected, the Federal Reserve unsurprisingly made another 75 basis points interest rate hike. Several companies revised their outlooks and kept the market volatile.
Investors indulged in emotional investing and were sensitive to any news — good or bad. Amid such choppy trading activities, several stocks stood out because investors traded them at significant volumes.
Analyzing these patterns can help us to better understand the sentiment of investors when macroeconomic headwinds are rife and the market outlook is uncertain. To that end, we dove into September’s Buy and Sell transactions of the 526,743 investors that hold a TipRanks Smart Portfolio.
Most Bought Stocks
While Apple (AAPL) remained the most bought stock in September, three conspicuous entries to September’s list of most bought stocks within the top 10 positions were Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel (INTC), and Ford (F). These three stocks displaced Nio (NIO), AT&T (T), and Alphabet Class C (GOOG) from August’s list.
Apple’s position as one of the most valuable companies in the world is not for nothing. The company has set up several solid revenue streams and is aggressively working toward expanding into newer avenues with secular growth trends, such as the metaverse. This apart, an unwavering commitment to enhancing its device portfolio gives us another reason to cheer for Apple.
Despite the headwinds that are exacting a toll on Apple, investors seem to have faith in the company’s longer-term opportunities.
Recently, Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $210. The analyst was encouraged by the strong uptrend in user growth and the Apple ecosystem, which he believes will drive more profits to the highly profitable Services segment.
Moreover, the analyst describes AAPL stock as a “must-own stock driven by its industry leadership position and significant Economic Earnings power, brand equity, loyal customer base, cash generation ability, incredibly strong balance sheet, and ability to innovate to create new products as it continues to expand its ecosystem.”
Wall Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 24 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell. Moreover, the average price target for Apple stock is $182.97, implying an upside potential of about 32% from current price levels.
Coming back to the list, here are September’s top 10 most bought stocks:
1. Apple, unchanged
2. Amazon (AMZN), previously 4th, replaced Tesla (TSLA)
3. Tesla, previously 2nd, replaced Microsoft (MSFT)
4. Nvidia (NVDA), previously 7th, replaced Amazon
5. Microsoft, previously 3rd, replaced Meta Platforms (META)
6. Alphabet Class A (GOOGL), unchanged
7. AMD, previously 13th, replaced Nvidia
8. Meta, previously 5th, replaced Nio
9. Ford, previously 19th, replaced Alphabet Class C
10. Intel, previously 20th, replaced AT&T
Most Sold Stocks
When compared with August, September’s list of most sold stocks had a few displacements of old stocks with new entrants. Amazon topped the list as the most sold stock in September.
Theatrical exhibition platform AMC Entertainment (AMC), cryptocurrency technology provider Coinbase (COIN), Alphabet Class C, and oil company Exxon Mobil (XOM) dropped out of the top 10 most sold stocks.
The selling trends reflect the indecisiveness among investors amid uncertainty and their struggle to find a footing in the volatile market during a downturn.
Coming back to the most sold stocks, Disney (DIS) moved up eight places on the list this time, possibly because of concerns about its expensive services and slowing growth.
The House of Mouse hasn’t been able to escape the crosshairs of the economic turmoil, making investors wary. However, Wall Street is suggesting otherwise. Currently, a Strong Buy on Wall Street based on 14 Buys and three Holds, DIS stock has an average price target of $144.80, indicating an upside potential of 52%.
Here are the top 10 most sold stocks for September:
1. Amazon, previously 4th, replaced Apple
2. Tesla, previously 6th, replaced Microsoft
3. Apple, previously 1st, replaced Meta
4. Nvidia, previously 7th, Amazon
5. Microsoft, previously 2nd, replaced Alphabet Class C
6. Alphabet Class A, previously 12th, replaced Tesla
7. Meta, previously 3rd, replaced Nvidia
8. AMD, previously 14th, replaced AMC
9. Disney, previously 17th, replaced Coinbase
10. Nio, previously 16th, replaced Exxon Mobil
We will come back soon with the most traded stocks of October. Meanwhile, to be ahead of the market in your investing journey, you can keep track of your own portfolio’s performance by opening a Smart Portfolio on TipRanks.
