In this piece, we will take a look at the 13 most popular retail investor stocks in 2024. If you want to skip our introduction to how retail trading has changed over these past couple of years and some recent trends, then you can check out 5 Most Popular Retail Investor Stocks in 2024.
The stock market of 2024 is quite different from the one present at the turn of the millennium. This is because the internet and consumer technology have made vast sums of information available to anyone willing to learn. As a result, more people are able to invest in the stock market, and this trend soared during the coronavirus pandemic. While the pandemic is known for the devastating disease and the lock downs, at the same time, it also put retail investors for the first time on Wall Street's map. This happened through the meme stock mania, which saw popular companies GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMC) soar on the stock market as retail investors joined forces on social media and bought the shares in bulk.
The rise of retail investors has also introduced a new angle to investing. Professional investors, like hedge funds, only have one objective in mind when making their decisions. This is profit maximization, whether the shares are bought long, sold short, or held to force a change at the firm as is with activist investing. On the flip side, retail investors, while also naturally influenced by the profit motive, also invest in stocks that they like. For instance, hedge funds had sold GameStop short and negatively influenced its share price because they remained unconvinced about the traditional brick and mortar retailer's ability to compete in the digital new world dominated by virtual video game downloads offered by platforms run by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY). The retail camp, on the other hand, had also invested in GameStop because of their attachment to the brand.
2024 is seeing this bifurcation between retail and professional investors surface once again. One of the hottest, and most volatile, stocks this year has been Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT). Like GameStop before it, DJT's investors also have a personal motive for piling into the shares. Retail investors have invested in the stock because they trust the former US President, and have continued to hold the shares even though TMTG battles short sellers. TMTG is a social media company that operates Truth Social, a platform President Trump set up after he was banned from Twitter (now X) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s Facebook. With the US Presidential race for 2024 having kicked off, investors are also battling it out on Wall Street as TMTG stock rises and falls. DJT - the stock - is quite fresh as it commenced trading just earlier this year. Before the merger between Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) and TMTG, the shares had traded under DWAC and had become a proxy for the former President's daily affairs. Soon after its merger, TMTG shared with investors that it had earned $4 million in income from ads run on its platform.
The stock DJT is up 138% year to date, entering the year after TMTG sued press outlets for incorrectly interpreting its financial statements. The fireworks in its share price are also recent, as $DJT's predecessor stock, $DWAC, was flat throughout 2023. Like other special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), DWAC's stock also posted its strongest gains soon after the stock was listed for public trading. Back in October 2021, the stock stunned the market by soaring to $175 and settled to close at $94, the highest in its history. This marked a 1,500% price appreciation in the two trading days after news hit the wires that TMTG was merging with DWAC as the Trump team geared up to launch Truth Social. From its peak close of $94, the shares are down by 55%, after they narrowed the drop to 34% earlier this year after the merger and the ticker change to DJT.
With these details in mind, let's take a look at some of the most popular stocks among retail investors. A couple of notable names are Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
13 Most Popular Retail Investor Stocks in 2024
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Our Methodology
To make our list of the most popular stocks among retail investors, we used data from the Robinhood Index, Fintel, and Vanda Research to make a list of all the stocks that ordinary traders can't get enough of.
For these popular retail investor stocks, we used hedge fund sentiment. Hedge funds’ top 10 consensus stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). That’s why we pay very close attention to this often-ignored indicator.
13 Most Popular Retail Investor Stocks in 2024
13. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: N/A
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT) owns and operates the social media platform called Truth Social. Truth Social was set up by former US President Donald Trump, and after its shares started to trade post merger in March, the firm has spent a considerable amount of time educating its shareholders on how to stop short sellers from playing with the stock. It joins Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in our list of the most popular retail investor stocks in 2024.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) is a video game and accessories retailer. Despite continuing to remain a retail investor favorite, the stock hasn't done well in 2024 so far and is down 28% year to date.
During last year's fourth quarter, 12 out of the 933 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey had bought GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME)'s shares. D. E. Shaw's D E Shaw was the biggest shareholder due to its $29.8 million stake.
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) is a Bitcoin mining company headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It also sells hardware for the data center industry, and on this front, March 2024 saw Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) launch a new cooling system.
As of Q4 2023 end, 19 out of the 933 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey were Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)'s investors.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is an American car manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. The tail end of April 2024 is proving to be a controversial month for the firm as regulators investigate more than a hundred thousand cars for a crash involving hands free driving technology.
For their December quarter of 2023 shareholdings, 40 out of the 933 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had held a stake in the firm. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)'s largest hedge fund investor is Ken Fisher's Fisher Asset Management as it owns $721 million worth of shares.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) is an American technology company that operates and provides communications software to enable businesses to communicate with their customers. The firm has been doing well on the financial front as of late since it has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
During December 2023, 47 out of the 933 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database were Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO)'s shareholders. David Blood and Al Gore's Generation Investment Management was the biggest shareholder through its $645 million stake.
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is the world's largest pure play electric vehicle manufacturer. Amidst a global EV slowdown as consumers battle with inflation and expensive credit, the firm scored a win in China after it made inroads with its driver assistance technology according to Wedbush.
After digging through 933 hedge funds for their fourth quarter of 2023 shareholdings, 82 out of the 933 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had invested in the firm. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s largest investor among these is Catherine D. Wood's ARK Investment Management as it owns $910 million worth of shares.
7. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 89
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is a global media and entertainment company headquartered in Burbank, California. With the global economy having stabilized after the pandemic, the firm is continuing to focus on its theme park division and has earmarked $2 billion for growth.
By the end of last year's fourth quarter, 89 out of the 933 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey were The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)'s shareholders. Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners was the biggest shareholder due to its $2.9 billion investment.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is a semiconductor designer headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It's one of the strongest rated stocks on our list as the shares are rated Strong Buy on average. The average share price target is $192.
120 out of the 933 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey during Q4 2023 had invested in the firm. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)'s largest stakeholder among these is Ken Fisher's Fisher Asset Management since it holds a $4.1 billion stake.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are some top stocks that retail investors are buying in 2024.