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Top trades by Australian Sharesight users in 2024

by Stephanie Stefanovic, Content Manager, Sharesight | Dec 17th 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

2024 Top 20 trades Australian investors

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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

2024 Top 20 shares Australian investors

Note: To get a closer look at this chart, you can right-click and open the image in a new tab (for desktop) or press-hold and download the image or open it in a web browser (for mobile).

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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Disclaimer: The above article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a specific product recommendation, or taxation or financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. While we use reasonable endeavours to keep the information up-to-date, we make no representation that any information is accurate or up-to-date. If you choose to make use of the content in this article, you do so at your own risk. To the extent permitted by law, we do not assume any responsibility or liability arising from or connected with your use or reliance on the content on our site. Please check with your adviser or accountant to obtain the correct advice for your situation.

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