With the holiday season upon us and the tumultuous year of 2023 drawing to a close, it’s time to start thinking about next year. For stock market investors that means deciding which stocks to watch in 2024, and which ones to put on the back burner.
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One popular metric for determining where to put your focus is trading volume. The most actively traded stocks by volume are, by definition, the ones with the most interest and participation by institutional and retail investors. When a stock is rising on high volume, it can indicate a positive market sentiment, which is always something worth looking into.
In addition, active trading can create powerful stock price momentum. Momentum is a key factor in sustaining a trend.
We took a look back at the last month of trading and compiled this list of seven actively traded stocks to watch through the end of this year and into the next:
| Stock | Average Daily Volume (In shares, trailing three months) |
| Tesla Inc. (ticker: TSLA) | 121.7 million |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) | 61 million |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | 55.8 million |
| Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) | 53.5 million |
| Ford Motor Co. (F) | 52.9 million |
| Bank of America Corp. (BAC) | 46 million |
| Nio Inc. (NIO) | 43.9 million |
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
It’s no surprise to find TSLA on a list of actively traded stocks. The public interest in this company and in the exploits of its founder, Elon Musk, seem to know no bounds.
Tesla is, of course, the most popular electric vehicle (EV) company in the world. By an order of magnitude, Tesla sells more EVs than Ford Motor Co. (F) and General Motors Co. (GM) combined. Some analysts see Tesla’s vehicle sales rising by 25% next year. Tesla is also an established leader in solar energy generation and storage.
But what accounts for its recent jaw-dropping volume and its inclusion on our list? Stock watchers believe it’s that the long-awaited first deliveries of the Cybertruck finally began earlier this month. Considering that the company has more than 2 million preorders for the Cybertruck, the enthusiasm may be warranted.
Average daily volume (in shares, trailing three months): 121.7 million shares
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
Interestingly, PLTR can be classified as both a defense and a high-tech company. It builds, installs and services cutting-edge information technology software that helps governments and law enforcement identify threats, prevent attacks and bring terrorists and other criminals to justice. As one might expect, Palantir’s biggest and most important client is the U.S. government.
The company has struggled to produce meaningful earnings, but PLTR will generate more than $2.2 billion in revenue this year, and revenue may top $2.6 billion in the coming year. PLTR is a volatile stock suitable for aggressive investors, but as the company matures, earnings and price stability should follow.
PLTR has been a volume leader since awareness of the incredible potential of artificial intelligence, or AI, burst into public awareness about a year ago. Wars and hostilities around the world are also fueling interest in PLTR.
Average daily volume: 61 million
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
It makes perfect sense that, with a market cap of more than $3 trillion, one of the largest companies in the world is also one of the most actively traded. Apple makes smart devices that include phones, tablets, computers, high-tech home accessories and wearables such as smart watches and earphones.
APPL is a hugely popular stock found in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500. Whenever anyone around the world buys an index fund or index ETF like the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) or the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ), they are buying AAPL, and increasing its volume.
That fact alone is enough to sustain Apple’s healthy trading volume. Add to that the recent successful rollout of the new iPhone 15 and AAPL definitely qualifies as an actively traded stock to watch.
Average daily volume: 55.8 million
[Best Tech Stocks to Buy for 2024]
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
AMZN is the No. 1 e-commerce stock in the world. The company will generate a mind-boggling $574 billion in revenue this year and analysts expect revenue of $635 billion next year.
Future revenue and earnings projections are only estimates and no one can predict the future. That said, Amazon’s 12-month-trailing free cash flow has been solidly positive and growing for six straight months. They’ve been able to achieve this by improving their fulfillment and transportation cost structure, an incredible feat considering fuel costs and the ongoing labor shortage.
AMZN is currently trading at around $147 per share. Consensus estimates have a price target of $174 for shares, nearly a 20% increase from current levels. That’s reason enough to keep this actively traded stock on your radar.
Average daily volume: 53.5 million
Ford Motor Co. (F)
Ford is an American legacy auto maker. It manufactures, sells and finances cars, trucks, vans and SUVs for retail and commercial customers. This iconic brand generates $150 billion in revenue which allows the company to distribute a 5.6% current dividend yield to Ford shareholders.
The car business is incredibly competitive, especially among the big three auto makers which, along with Ford, include GM and Stellantis NV (STLA). One of the possible explanations for Ford’s high and sustained volume is the steady progress it’s been making in the EV space, specifically, converting stalwart truck-owners on to the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning.
Average daily volume: 52.9 million
Bank of America Corp. (BAC)
BAC is the first and only banking stock to make our list. With a market cap of about $245 billion and revenue north of $100 billion, BAC is a powerhouse in banking, investing and financial services.
The company is on track to post a solid $3.46 in earnings per share in 2023, up from $3.19 per share in 2022. Strong financial performance recently prompted the bank’s board of directors to increase its quarterly dividend from 22 cents a share to 24 cents per share, thus providing BAC shareholders with a very nice current yield of 3.1%.
It’s difficult to pin down the reasons for this stock’s impressive volume numbers. They are likely due to investors anticipating an end to rising interest rates and corresponding improvement in the health of the financial sector. In addition, BAC has been making a concerted effort to improve its technology platforms, which should give the company an edge over the competition going forward.
Average daily volume: 46 million
Nio Inc. (NIO)
Nio is a very interesting but somewhat risky stock. Nio is a Chinese car company that competes with Tesla in the EV space. NIO stock, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, is a type of security known as an American depository receipt, or ADR. Basically they are U.S.-listed shares of a foreign company.
Despite very real political and market risks associated with investing in China, Nio is seen by investors as having tremendous potential. The investment rationale is based on the huge market for EVs in China and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
The company has experienced decent revenue growth but, like most EV manufacturers, has yet to reach profitability. The justifiable excitement and optimism surrounding the overall EV market is what’s driving the stock’s impressive volume.
Average daily volume: 43.9 million
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7 Most Active Stocks to Watch originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/08/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
