Top 10 most popular stocks on Robinhood

August 18, 2020

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By Vikas Shukla. Originally published at ValueWalk.

Zero-commission stock trading platform Robinhood has been scaling the new heights of popularity among youngsters since its inception. It has added more than 3 million new customer accounts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The so-called Robinhood army of traders have been taking advantage of the zero-commission brokerage platform to trade through the equity market volatility. Their behavior has surprised many market veterans. Here we take a look at the top ten most popular stocks among Robinhood traders.

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The retail stock trading app has more than 10 million users. Robinhood users have been in the news recently for buying shares of bankrupt companies such as Hertz, Kodak, and JCPenney.

Data for this list comes from Robintrack, a website built by a Valparaiso University student named Casey Primozic in 2018 as a side project. Today, hedge fund giants, institutional investors, and other Wall Street firms use data from Robintrack to get insights into what Robinhood investors are buying, selling and holding.

Robintrack uses Robinhood’s API data to track which stocks Robinhood customers are trading. These are the most popular stocks on Robinhood at the time of writing, according to Robintrack.

10- GoPro

GoPro is the 10th most popular stock on Robinhood. As many as 475,051 Robinhood customers own shares of the action camera maker. The pandemic has forced people to stay at home, affecting GoPro sales. The company is preparing to launch a new version of its Hero action camera later this year. GoPro has laid off 20% of its workforce and shifted its focus to direct-to-customer sales model to boost profit margins.

9- Carnival

The cruise line company has seen its stock plummet from $51 at the beginning of 2020 to under $15 now. Most of Carnival’s ships are stuck at port due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company has taken a huge debt to survive the pandemic. According to Robintrack, an impressive 487,136 Robinhood users own the cruise line company’s stock.

8- Tesla

Tesla is the 8th most popular stock on Robinhood. Its shares are owned by 563,621 Robinhood users. The electric vehicle maker’s stock price has shot up more than 300% this year so far. Tesla has been the biggest nightmare of short sellers, despite everyone knowing that the stock is ridiculously overvalued. Its market capitalization stands at $342 billion, far more than any other automaker in the world.

7- Delta Air Lines

Airline industry is one of the worst affected by the pandemic. There are 572,679 Robinhood users who own the stock, down from 580,791 users at the end of July. Delta Air Lines stock is down more than 50% year-to-date. The business is unlikely to reach pre-COVID levels anytime soon. Founded in 1924, Delta is one of the world’s oldest airlines still in operation.

6- Walt Disney Co

The Disney stock is owned by 598,367 Robinhood users, down from 611,420 users at the end of July. The stock has gained a little over 10% in the last one month, indicating that some Robinhood traders booked profits. Disney owns a wide range of media and entertainment assets including movie studios, cable networks, theme parks, and cruise ships. Many of them have suffered badly, but its streaming service Disney+ is doing particularly well in the lockdown.

5- American Airlines

American Airlines occupies the 5th spot with 637,705 Robinhood users owning the stock, down from 656,259 users at the end of July. Just like Delta Air Lines, American Airlines stock has been beaten down. Despite the massive government support, it could take the airline industry several years to recover.

4- Microsoft

Microsoft is one of the most valuable companies on the planet with a market cap of $1.6 trillion. Its stock is owned by 653,838 Robinhood users. The stock has gained more than 30% this year so far. The number of Robinhood customers owning the stock has gone up from 492,023 at the end of June to 653,838 users as of August 17th.

3- Apple

The world’s most valuable company is the third most popular stock on Robinhood. According to Robintrack, the Apple stock is owned by 730,774 Robinhood users, up from 612,379 users at the end of July. Apple surprised the markets with a strong revenue and profit growth during the March-June quarter despite the pandemic.

2- General Electric

General Electric is a low-price stock popular among Robinhood customers. The pandemic has battered GE’s aviation business. General Electric wasn’t doing particularly well even before COVID-19. As many as 856,899 Robinhood users own the industrial conglomerate’s stock. The stock has declined nearly 50% since February.

1- Ford

Ford is by far the most popular stock on Robinhood. The low-price stock is owned by 911,470 Robinhood customers. The popularity of Ford and General Electric shares among Robinhood traders is most likely because of their low price. The low stock price allows investors with smaller portfolios to trade shares.