Retail investors continue to support Nvidia while casting a wider net in the hunt for artificial intelligence winners, according to the latest quarterly stock data from online brokerage eToro.
Among the most popular stocks, Q2 saw another major change in the rankings, with Nvidia rising to become the second most popular stock on the eToro platform, behind only Tesla. The artificial intelligence market leader ranked fourth at the end of Q1 and seventh three months earlier, but continued to attract new users, fueled by another 37% rise in its share price in the latest quarterly period.
While Nvidia dominates the AI headlines, other companies in the space are also attracting investor attention with several companies with high AI ambitions appearing on the top up-and-comers list. This includes Dell, which has seen a 45% increase in the number of holders on the eToro platform. The company has made several AI product announcements of late, and has also been approved as a potential supplier for Elon Musk’s new start-up xAI.
Semiconductor chipmakers Broadcom (+33% increase in users) and Micron Technology (+27%) also saw significant growth in users on the platform, as did MongoDB (+24%), a business that helps other companies develop artificial intelligence .
Continuing the trend seen in Q1, several European stocks appeared on the list of top gainers, with French energy company Air Liquide (+139%) on top as it attracted strong interest following news that it will supply energy to semiconductor chip maker Micron. Santander (+32%) and Spanish energy company Repsol (+26%)
Commenting on the data, eToro analyst Sam North said:
“There are various opportunities for investors in the AI space and it’s refreshing to see eToro users looking across the entire ecosystem. Nvidia’s stratospheric rise means it will continue to be in the limelight, but there’s no doubt that other big AI winners will emerge in various shapes and sizes.
It’s also interesting to see that retail investors are looking beyond AI, and technology more broadly, with several European companies in autos, energy and financial services garnering a lot of attention in the second quarter. It is always important to diversify across sectors, but especially so when the interest rate environment changes. There is also no guarantee that all AI stocks will flourish.”
Among the list of top decliners in Q2, it was a mixed bag, with eToro users appearing to cash in on the likes of Reddit (-40%), following its March IPO, and ZIM Shipping (-23% ). with the latter’s share price almost doubling this year. Investors also appeared to be losing patience with Puma and its poor share price performance, with the company seeing a 16% drop in eToro platform holders in the second quarter.