Most traded stocks by country: 2021

2021 was another interesting year in the investing world as the Covid pandemic continued to cause issues in some industries and accelerate trends in others. European and American equities ended the year positively, with the EURO STOXX 50 and the S&P 500 gaining 20.99% and 26.89%, respectively.

In this article, you will find the most traded stock in each of our countries for the whole of 2021. We usually look at all stocks, but this time, we only included the stocks in the main American and European indices to zoom in on the largest players in the market. We then discuss the most dominant stock among our investors and the stocks that saw the biggest price movements last year.

Tesla takes over the map

Tesla was by far the most popular major stock among our investors, being traded the most in 11 of our 18 countries.

2021 was a challenging year for many in the automobile industry as a global chip shortage caused some companies to pause or reduce production, including Tesla. In February 2021, production was paused for two days at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, citing parts shortages. However, Tesla was able to navigate the shortage. The company recently announced that it delivered a record of 308,600 vehicles in Q4 2021. This brought Tesla’s total sales in 2021 to 936,000, an 87% increase year-over-year, beating analysts’ estimates.

In addition to better-than-expected results, Tesla became one of five publicly traded US companies with a valuation above $1 trillion in October 2021. This valuation makes it worth more than five of the other leading carmakers, General Motors, Daimler, BYD, Volkswagen and Toyota, combined.

While Tesla’s stock price ended the year up by 53.92%, prices were volatile throughout the year. According to Bloomberg, Tesla’s price swings on a typical day are four times greater than the S&P 500.

Biggest movements

The companies that saw the biggest price movements during 2021 were SSAB and CD Projekt.

SSAB

SSAB was on the winning end out of the stocks on the map, with prices increasing by 77.08%. SSAB is a Swedish multinational company that is involved in the steel industry.

Being in the steel industry, the price of steel can impact SSAB’s stock price. After an initial plunge in demand at the beginning of the pandemic, the economic recovery drove up demand and prices for steel products. In Q3 2021, SSAB reported a quarterly record for operating profit of SEK 5,800 million (~€565 million). In 2021, SSAB also made the first fossil-free steel and delivered it to Volvo Group.

CD Projekt

CD Projekt was on the losing end, with prices decreasing by 30.79%. CD Projekt is a Polish video game developer, publisher and distributor. Some games it is known for are Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher.

In April 2020, CD Projekt was the most valuable company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. However, in December 2020, prices took a plunge and have struggled to get back to where they once were.

CD Projekt launched its highly anticipated video game Cyberpunk 2077 in December 2020. Following the launch, players reported many glitches, resulting in Sony pulling the game from its PlayStation Store. Analysts first expected sales of Cyberpunk 2077 to reach 30 million in the year after the game’s release but reduced this estimate by around 65% at the end of 2021.

The company also faced legal issues from the Cyberpunk debacle, as it was sued in a California district court by investors who hold American Depository Receipts (ADRs) in the company. Those suing claimed the company misled investors by saying the game was playable ahead of its debut.

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The information in this article is not written for advisory purposes, nor does it intend to recommend any investments. Please be aware that facts may have changed since the article was originally written. Investing involves risks. You can lose (a part of) your deposit. We advise you to only invest in financial products that match your knowledge and experience.

Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, Tesla, SSAB, CD Projekt