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3 themes Aussie investors are chasing in 2021
Australian retail investors believe electric vehicles, the sharing economy and large pharmaceutical companies to be the major winners in 2021, their trade active has revealed.

3 themes Aussie investors are chasing in 2021
Australian retail investors believe electric vehicles, the sharing economy and large pharmaceutical companies to be the major winners in 2021, their trade active has revealed.

Stats released by eToro show investors in December have heavily favoured the EV sector with Chinese manufacturer NIO and US carmaker Tesla topping the list of shares bought in the final month of 2020.
eToro’s market analyst Josh Gilbert said December was the first time NIO has traded lower as its rapid rise slowed throughout December.
“From the 23rd of November to the 14th of December, its share price fell 24 per cent, which is the biggest pullback we’ve seen from Nio in 2020,” Mr Gilbert said.
“Many investors would have seen this as a great opportunity to buy Nio shares at a more attractive price after continuous monthly gains.
“On the back of this, Tesla in turn, saw an increase in trading activity as it was added into the S&P 500. Tesla’s share price jumped more than 20 per cent in December, which saw its market cap climb past $600 billion.”
Australia retail investors are not only favouring electric vehicles with large pharmaceuticals receiving strong support following COVID-19 breakthroughs.
“On the 18th of December, the FDA issued emergency authorisation of Moderna’s vaccine to treat the virus, the companies’ first-ever FDA approval,” Mr Gilbert said.
“This saw an increase of 71 per cent in trading activity, however, Moderna finished down more than 30 per cent in December after slow distribution in the US, and its competitors Pfizer and BioNTech continuing to gain further approval for its vaccines globally.”
Health breakthroughs not related to COVID-19 also saw strong buyer gains at the end of 2022 with genomic sequencing company Bionano Genomics rallying on new medical announcements.
“The once penny stock jumped more than 500 per cent in December from 50 cents a share up to $3,” Mr Gilbert said.
“With its share price rocketing over the Christmas period, it caught the attention of many investors. With a limited number of products at this point, the company has raised eyebrows with its eye-watering gains and investors will need to remain cautious over its future prospects.”
Despite facing challenges of border closures due to the pandemic, investors have heavily backed Airbnb’s IPO in December.
“The vacation rental marketplace more than doubled its IPO price on its first day of trading, reaching $140 from its IPO price of $68,” Mr Gilbert concluded.
“With so much talk around its IPO throughout the year, and with the travel industry being affected heavily by COVID-19, Australian investors were keen to buy Airbnb from the outset. As a profitable business and with strong resilience through the pandemic, it’s clear to see why so many investors were keen to invest.”
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