Top trades by Australian Sharesight users in 2024

Welcome to the 2024 edition of our Australian trading snapshot, where we dive into this year’s top trades by Sharesight users. Below we will look at the top trades overall, plus the top trades in individual stocks. This allows us to observe the broader investment trends by Australian Sharesight users, while also giving us an opportunity to zoom into the most popular stocks and the market-moving news behind them.

Top trades by Australian investors in 2024

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In 2024, the top trades were led primarily by buy trades in Vanguard’s Australian Shares (ASX: VAS) and International Shares (ASX: VGS) ETFs, followed by iShares’ S&P 500 (ASX: IVV) ETF. It was a strong year for ETF trading overall, with 8 of the top 20 trades belonging to ETFs.

It should be noted the majority of trades were buy trades, which is typical of an ETF-heavy snapshot. The only stock with a higher proportion of sell trades than buy trades was Westpac (ASX: WBC). In general, all banking stocks had a high proportion of sell trades, likely due to their strong performance throughout the year, with investors choosing to realise their gains.

Most-traded stocks by Australian investors in 2024

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BHP (ASX: BHP)

• January: BHP share price drops following lacklustre Q2 results
• March: BHP cuts 25% of WA nickel project workforce
• April: Loss-making nickel division in focus in BHP’s latest financial results
• May: Brokers are bullish on BHP following quarterly results
• June: Share price drops following decarbonisation update
• July: BHP and Lundin Mining to join forces to buy Filo Corp for C$4.5 billion
• August: Share price rises as company reports revenue growth in FY24 results
• September: Share price rises on Chinese stimulus news
• October: BHP reaches AU$45 billion settlement over Brazilian dam disaster that killed 19
• November: Plans to spend over US$10 billion on Chilean mine expansion

Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS)

• January: Woodside plans to collaborate with South Korean utilities giant to explore potential offtake deals and investments in hydrogen and ammonia projects
• February: Woodside share price rises despite 74% drop in FY23 profit
• March: Woodside in final talks with WA government over deal to secure domestic gas supply
• April: Share price falls following 12% decline in quarterly profit
• May: Share price has plummeted 17% in six months
• June: Woodside restructures management team to prepare for energy transition
• July: Reports 2% quarter-on-quarter revenue growth in Q2 2024
• August: Revenue plummets 19% due to fall in commodity prices
• September: Woodside share price is down 30% YoY
• October: Woodside posts record Q3 production but narrows 2024 guidance
• December: Share price reaches new 52-week low amid challenging economic climate

Fortescue Metals (ASX: FMG)

• January: Fortescue founder shuts WA nickel mines bought for AU$760 million just six months ago
• March: Fortescue attributes senior executive exodus to ‘cultural misalignment’
• June: Share price plummets as AU$1.1 billion stake hits the market
• July: Undisclosed vendor sells AU$1.9 billion stake in Fortescue Metals
• August: Fortescue reports strong FY24 earnings
• September: Signs US$2.8 billion green mining equipment deal with Liebherr
• October: Share price drops following disappointing quarterly results
• November: Fortescue orders AU$618 million-worth of green mining machinery

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA)

• January: NVIDIA share price hits record high
• February: Market cap has gained US$1.5 trillion, surpassing FAANG stocks
• May: Reports soaring revenue and profits amid AI craze
• July: NVIDIA among tech companies using controversial methods to train their AI models
• August: NVIDIA share price drops despite record sales; investors concerned about slowing rate of growth
• September: NVIDIA surpasses US$3 trillion market cap once again
• October: Briefly surpasses Apple as world’s most valuable company
• November: Share price down despite strong quarterly earnings
• December: NVIDIA shares enter technical correction zone, however analysts remain bullish

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

• January: Share price drops as Tesla’s Q4 revenue and earnings miss expectations
• February: Tesla shares sink to 9-month low while rivals gain
• March: Tesla shares rise on news that US customers will receive full self-driving software trial
• April: Tesla shares sink on news of YoY sales decline
• May: Musk recruits xAI staff following US$6 billion capital raise
• July: Analysts impressed by Tesla’s latest update to its Full Self-Driving tech
• September: Tesla share price hits 2-month high with Q3 results and robotaxi event soon to come
• October: Shares rise to highest price in 13 months in post-earnings rally
• November: Share price jumps on news that Trump wants to relax self-driving laws
• December: Tesla CEO Elon Musk becomes first person to reach US$400 billion net worth

Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS)

• January: Pilbara remains the most-shorted ASX stock
• February: Shares plummet as Pilbara reports 76% drop in half-year profit, plans to withhold dividend
• March: Pilbara seeking to build new lithium conversion facility by 2025
• May: Despite lithium sector gains, Pilbara still targeted by short sellers
• August: Plans to expand Brazilian lithium footprint by acquiring Latin Resources
• October: Cuts lithium output, suspends Ngungaju plant
• November: US shareholders criticise CEO pay, lack of diversity

Telstra (ASX: TLS)

• April: Telstra share price hits a new 52-week low as investors sell off shares amid high interest rates
• May: Share price falls following announcement of restructure, job cuts
• July: Telstra fined AU$1.5 million for breaching scam rules
• August: Achieves third consecutive year of underlying growth, despite drop in net profit after tax
• December: Telstra acquires prepaid mobile provider Boost for AU$100 million

Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA)

• January: Is CBA Australia’s most overvalued bank?
• October: CBA shares up 35% in a year
• September: Share price hits record high as investors pile into bank stocks
• December: CBA announces intention to charge customers for withdrawing cash

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FURTHER READING

• Subscribe to Sharesight20 trading snapshots
• Top trades by Australian Sharesight users — November 2024
• Sharesight users' top 20 trades in ASX stocks for 2023