Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) topped the list as the most-traded stock in the UK over the past year, followed by the likes of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), according to trading platform Plus500.
No UK companies featured among the top ten most traded in the year to April, with Plus500’s list mainly comprising of auto manufacturing companies.
Top ten most traded shares in the UK:
1. Tesla
Tesla shares have rebounded 92% this year so far, following a 65% fall in 2022, egged on by chief executive Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, which involved large chunks of the electric vehicle maker’s stock.
Tesla has repeatedly cut prices this year, sparking similar attempts from rivals, with the move tipped as “key” in a “front and centre” focus on gaining market share, Wedbush analysts note.
2. Amazon
Amazon shares have also enjoyed a rebound this year, jumping 43% since January after a 50% decline in 2022 on the back of macroeconomic fears which prompted job cuts.
Speculation that Amazon’s World Service will be used for artificial intelligence-powered computing resources in the future can largely explain the rebound, according to Fuller Treacy Money analyst Eoin Treacy.
3. NIO
Chinese auto manufacturer NIO Inc (NYSE:NIO) has faced continuing share price decline, with the stock trading 21% lower than at the start of the year.
Investors may well have been swayed by the New York-listed firm’s US$2bn net loss in 2022, rather than financial chief Wei Feng’s confidence of doubling production in the coming years
4. Coinbase
Shares in cryptocurrency platform Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) have risen 89% so far this year, aided by better-than-expected first-quarter results and despite clashes with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Referencing a “turning point” for the company in May, Wedbush noted strong subscriber strength and cost efficiency at the Nasdaq-listed firm.
5. Meta
Meta Platform Inc shares have largely recovered from a 64% fall last year, as Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘year of efficiency’ continues following a series of layoffs and renewed focus on augmented reality.
Recovering advertising revenues and an efficiency drive is “clearly helping to win the market over” so far, according to AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.
6. Apple
Apple has also enjoyed a strong boost from the “AI craze” and increased flows to big technology companies amid the US banking crisis, according to Swissquote analysts, prompting shares 44% higher so far this year.
7. Snap
Snapchat owner Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) has made leeway, marking a share price increase of 17% since January, though a poor showing in the first quarter had investors mulling over its investments, Oppenheimer analysts said.
8. Aurora
Canadian licensed cannabis producer Aurora Cannabis Inc (TSX:ACB, NASDAQ:ACB) has faced a steadily declining share price for several years now, with a 46% decline since January, though a bid to save US$2.6mln annually in March did prompt a brief period of rest bite.
9. Rivian
Tesla rival Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) had moved to cut some 900 jobs in February with better-than-expected first-quarter results not enough to stem a 16% year-to-date share price drop.
Nasdaq-traded Rivian did hint in May that it was on course to meet a 50,000 production target this year, an increase of roughly 50% on 2022.
10. Uniper
German gas giant Uniper SE had been battling with insolvency toward the end of last year, with late-May reports of a strong earnings recovery sending the stock soaring in recent weeks.