In this article, we will take a look at the 12 most popular retail investor stocks in 2023. To see more such companies, go directly to 12 Most Popular Retail Investor Stocks in 2023.
5. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 100
Investing in ETFs has become extremely popular on retail investing forums online as young investors are understanding the importance of hedging risks and diversifying portfolios for long-term gains. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) is highly popular on Reddit, Robinhood and other retail investment platforms and forums.
4. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 106
Citi analyst Christopher Danely recently said that sentiment around NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), and other “semiconductor capital equipment companies” is positive ahead of the first quarter earnings season.
The analyst thinks the automotive market is “solid” while data center, wireless and industrial segments remain weak.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 106 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is David Goel and Paul Ferri’s Matrix Capital Management which owns a $741 million stake in the company.
3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 135
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains one of the most popular retail investor stocks in 2023. Earlier this month, data from IDC showed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) suffered steep declines in Mac sales in the first quarter. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell after the report. However, investment firm Bernstein’s analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a note to investors that research firms like IDC and Gartner have not been totally accurate in the past when it comes to predicting Mac revenues. Sacconaghi has a Market Perform rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares gained after the Bernstein report.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 135 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The biggest stakeholder of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the period was Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway which owns an $116 billion stake in the company.
Wedgewood Partners made the following comment about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also contributed to performance during the quarter. Apple grew revenues +3% (foreign exchange adjusted) as its various product lines normalized against difficult comparisons. Apple’s installed base continues to grow and is at over 1.8 billion devices and helps drive a software and services business that makes up about a third of the Company’s gross profit dollars. As we have highlighted in the past, Apple’s relentless focus on the development and integration between hardware (especially integrated circuits) as well as software, continues to add significant value for customers of their products and services. We expect this favorable competitive dynamic to continue for the foreseeable future.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has become a darling of retail investors after the company’s stunning achievements in the AI space this year. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has gained about 20% year to date through April 17. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is also the most popular stock among the elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, as 259 hedge funds in our database reported having stakes in the company at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. Chris Hohn’s TCI Fund Management owns a $5.3 billion stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Wedbush’s Dan Ives recently gave some bullish comments on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Cloud computing division, citing his recent checks. The analyst also increased his price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to $315 from $290.
Diamond Hill Large Cap Concentrated Strategy made the following comment about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Other bottom contributors to return included railroad operator Union Pacific, software and IT services provider Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and banking and financial services company Truist Financial. Union Pacific and Microsoft, though among our bottom contributors, still contributed positively to performance in Q4 as their share prices rose 7% and 3%, respectively. Truist’s stock ended flat in Q4.”
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 240
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently made headlines as it launched “Bedrock,” a new software tool that will help people build and scale generative AI applications with foundation models (FMs). Developers can use Bedrock to make different AI applications.
In a letter to shareholders, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s CEO Andy Jassy expressed a lot of optimism for AWS. The executive is also bullish on growth in advertising and grocery business areas of Amazon.
Renaissance Large Cap Growth Strategy made the following comment about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“On the negative side, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was our worst performing stock in the quarter. The company is finally seeing the consumer and enterprise weakness that other companies encountered earlier in the year. In addition, AWS growth decelerated in the third quarter, with management citing new pricing pressures as competitors look to gain market share. We found Amazon’s comments on cost controls and employee layoffs concerning, given the company’s historical propensity to invest in all macroeconomic environments. Management’s comments that the macro-economic slowdown was more sudden than expected is also concerning, especially since they do not expect an improvement in consumer trends anytime soon.”
You can also take a peek at 10 Most Profitable Small Businesses in 2023 and 10 Best April Dividend Stocks To Buy.
