Individual Institutional Fintech & Developer
Sign in
Open account
Individuals Institutional

Call toll-free 800.328.1267

Login

Market Insights

Bringing you the trading news around the world.

Stocks

Options

Futures

Streaming Wars Dominate Activity: September at TradeStation
In Review | Technology
Streaming Wars Dominate Activity: September at TradeStation
David Russell
October 1, 2019

The streaming wars came to TradeStation last month, with two of the biggest stocks in the industry dominating activity on our platform.

Roku (ROKU) was the second-busiest symbol among our clients in September. The provider of media players lost one-third of its value as investors worried about competition from Apple (AAPL) and Comcast (CMCSA). It was ROKU’s biggest monthly decline ever.

ROKU rose three notches in the rankings. It even shot ahead of AAPL, whose market capitalization is almost 100 times larger.

Netflix (NFLX) returned to TradeStation’s top 10. It’s been cratering since July on similar growth worries as ROKU. That’s especially true as the public waits for Walt Disney (DIS) to launch its streaming service in November.

Aside from those, the main trend last month was a shift away from indexed-products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Those tend to be more active when volatility is higher.

Here’s the complete list for September:

  1. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): The market-tracking fund held the No. 1 spot.
  2. Roku (ROKU): The streaming-video stock leaped three levels from August.
  3. Apple (AAPL): The smartphone giant, which topped the rankings between May and August, edged down one notch last month.
  4. Netflix (NFLX): The streaming-video stock flew back into the list from No. 11 the previous month.
  5. ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ): The leveraged Nasdaq-tracking fund inched down two positions.
  6. Micron Technology (MU): The memory-chip maker rose from No. 10 as activity increased around its quarterly results.
  7. Nvidia (NVDA): The semiconductor company edged down one notch from the previous month.
  8. Tesla (TSLA): The electric-car company rose from No. 11 in August.
  9. Facebook (FB): The social media giant rose from twelfth the previous month.
  10. Amazon.com (AMZN): The e-commerce behemoth slipped from No. 7 in August.

The following symbols exited the top 10:

  • Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): The semiconductor company  dropped from No. 4 to No. 15.
  • VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term Exchange-Traded Note (TVIX): The long-volatility product fell from No. 8 to No. 11.
  • PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ): The Nasdaq-100 tracking fund fell from No. 9 to No. 13.
Tags: AAPL | AMD | AMZN | FB | MU | NFLX | NVDA | QQQ | ROKU | SPY | TQQQ | TSLA | TVIX

About the author

David Russell
David Russell is Global Head of Market Strategy at TradeStation. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience as a financial journalist and analyst, his background includes equities, emerging markets, fixed-income and derivatives. He previously worked at Bloomberg News, CNBC and E*TRADE Financial. Russell systematically reviews countless global financial headlines and indicators in search of broad tradable trends that present opportunities repeatedly over time. Customers can expect him to keep them appraised of sector leadership, relative strength and the big stories – especially those overlooked by other commentators. He’s also a big fan of generating leverage with options to limit capital at risk.

Related stories

Stock Gains Widen as Investors Hope for Lower Inflation

Stock Gains Widen as Investors Hope for Lower Inflation

by David Russell | May 13, 2024

Money is flowing back into stocks as investors hope for a better inflation report this week. The S&P 500 rose 1.9 percent between Friday, May 3, and Friday, May 10. It was the third straight positive week. More than...

Chart of the Day: Oracle May Have Found Support

Chart of the Day: Oracle May Have Found Support

by David Russell | May 7, 2024

Oracle jumped to new highs almost two months ago. Now, after a pullback, the software giant may have found support. The first pattern on today’s chart is the gap higher on March 12 after earnings surprised to the upside. ORCL retraced the move and is starting to...

Stocks Claw Back from Losses as News Shifts and Yields Fall

Stocks Claw Back from Losses as News Shifts and Yields Fall

by David Russell | May 6, 2024

Last week's news wasn't great, but it was good enough to stop the bears. The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent between Friday, April 26, and Friday, May 3. At one point the index was down as much as 2 percent, only to snap back in the last two sessions. Yields also fell...