Retail traders piled back into stocks after last week's tech rout. Here's what JPMorgan said they bought.
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- Retail traders bought the dip in beaten-down software names after last week's plunge.
- They also piled back into Magnificent Seven stocks after earnings-induced declines.
- JPMorgan flagged what the retail cohort bought in the week after the software sector's historic drop.
Dip-buyers in the retail crowd rushed back into stocks and ETFs after last week's big software-led plunge, JPMorgan says.
JPMorgan quantitative strategists examined trading trends among retail investors, finding that retail investors bought the dip after the sell-off and after some post-earnings stock moves. They also flagged some stocks to watch due to an imbalance between retail and institutional interest.
During the software meltdown, retail traders pulled back, with buying hitting a year-to-date low on February 5. From Friday, February 6, to Wednesday, February 11, retail investor flows surged above the daily average seen so far in 2026, largely driven by ETFs, compared to single stocks.
JPMorgan
Here is a closer look at some of the themes popular with retail traders following the software-led rout, according to JPMorgan.
Retail bought the dip in software
After the software sector sold off into a bear market, retail investors piled into high-quality AI plays.
JPMorgan highlighted Microsoft as one of the stocks that retail investors bought the dip in, and noted it's one of the bank's "AI-Resilient" software stock picks.
Palantir and AppLovin stand out as some of the top software names bought in the retail space in 2026, along with Microsoft. Salesforce, Roper Technologies, and Intuit were some of the most-sold names in the same period.
Beyond the past week, retail traders have broadly preferred buying media and semiconductor stocks while selling software since the start of 2026.
Retail saw Mag 7 post-earnings slides as an opportunity
Retail investors shared some of Wall Street's worries about Big Tech's AI spending after earnings, but sentiment was mixed, JPM said, citing Reddit comments.
The analysts highlighted that retail traders bought the post-earnings dip in Amazon and Alphabet shares, while sitting out on Meta stock's climb.
Trending stocks in the crosshairs of retail and hedge funds
JPMorgan flagged several stocks popular on social media that saw high retail buying and high hedge fund shorting.
They noted that this combination of social media interest and conflicting retail and institutional investors signals potential unexpected flows.
In the last week, stocks with a large imbalance between retail buying and hedge fund shorting include Hims and Hers and Strategy.