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Jan 27, 2021
Retail Investor Activity Goes Parabolic - Is Trouble Ahead?

Retail Investor Activity Goes Parabolic - Is Trouble Ahead?

Retail investors are jumping into the markets in record numbers. Less certain is whether a majority of these new retail investors have the tools and the experience needed to do well over time. Tickeron's platform of Artificial Intelligence-generated can help.

According to Piper Sandler analysts, retail trading volume that goes through wholesale market makers accounted for nearly half of all trading in the first 11 days in January. For some wealth managers and trading platforms, this has been welcome news. Morgan Stanley just completed its takeover of E*Trade, reporting 900,000 new self-directed accounts over the last two quarters. Charles Schwab, which is now combined with TD Ameritrade, has seen daily trading volumes of close to 8 million trades, which is well higher than volume last year. Schwab has also reported a 16% uptick in average margin loan balances over the past two quarters, suggesting that investors are growing more comfortable with risk-taking. 

It's good to see that new investors are showing interest in trading and investing, but more concerning to me is whether investors are taking on too much risk and making trades without having strong fundamental and technical research to back those trades. In my view, it won't take long for many investors to lose money - that's what the market almost always does to blind risk-takers.

Tickeron has several Artificial-Intelligence driven platforms, and if you're new to retail trading and investing, it could be helpful to have A.I. help you drive your investment-decision making. Below, Tickeron's A.I. analyzes major banks that could benefit from the wave of retail investor interest.

Related Ticker: XLF

Contributor

Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.


XLF saw its Stochastic Oscillator recovers from the overbought zone

The Stochastic Oscillator for XLF moved out of overbought territory on August 11, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock and investors may want to consider selling or taking a defensive position. A.I.dvisor looked at 70 similar instances where the indicator exited the overbought zone. In of the 70 cases the stock moved lower. This puts the odds of a downward move at .

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bearish Trend Analysis

The 10-day RSI Indicator for XLF moved out of overbought territory on August 06, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 45 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 45 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for XLF turned negative on August 07, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 44 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In of the 44 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at .

Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XLF declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .

XLF broke above its upper Bollinger Band on July 28, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.

Bullish Trend Analysis

The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on July 21, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on XLF as a result. In of 84 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XLF advanced for three days, in of 340 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 299 cases where XLF Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .

Notable companies

The most notable companies in this group are JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), VISA (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Charles Schwab Corp (The) (NYSE:SCHW).

Industry description

The investment seeks investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities of companies in the Financial Select Sector Index. The fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes companies that have been identified as Financial companies by the Global Industry Classification Standard, including securities of companies from the following industries: financial services; insurance; banks; capital markets; mortgage real estate investment trusts; and consumer finance. The fund is non-diversified.

Market Cap

The average market capitalization across the State Street®FinSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF is 106.63B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 5.72B to 962.37B. JPM holds the highest valuation in this group at 962.37B. The lowest valued company is MKTX at 5.72B.

High and low price notable news

The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the State Street®FinSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF was 8%. For the same ETF, the average monthly price growth was 41%, and the average quarterly price growth was 50%. BX experienced the highest price growth at 7%, while BEN experienced the biggest fall at -7%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the State Street®FinSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF was -33%. For the same stocks of the ETF, the average monthly volume growth was -3% and the average quarterly volume growth was -62%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows

Valuation Rating: 55
P/E Growth Rating: 61
Price Growth Rating: 37
SMR Rating: 38
Profit Risk Rating: 44
Seasonality Score: -17 (-100 ... +100)
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Novo Nordisk (NVO) reports Q4 2025 earnings on February 4, 2026, with consensus estimates of $11.96 billion in revenue and $0.89 EPS, reflecting a moderation in GLP-1 growth. Eli Lilly (LLY) is expected to report around the same time, with projections of $17.87 billion in revenue and $6.99 EPS, driven by continued volume gains from Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Banco Santander (SAN) reports Q4 2025 earnings on February 4, 2026, following record nine-month attributable profit of €10.3 billion, up 11% year over year.
Uber (UBER) reports Q4 2025 earnings on February 4, 2026, with consensus estimates of $0.78 EPS and $14.32 billion in revenue, up about 20% year over year.
Qualcomm’s Q1 FY2026 report, covering the period ended December 28, 2025, arrives amid a pivotal shift in the semiconductor landscape. While handset growth moderates, the company is expanding in automotive, IoT, and AI-enabled devices.
UBS Group AG reports Q4 2025 earnings on February 4, 2026, with consensus EPS ranging $0.25–$0.67 and revenue around $11.62 billion, down YoY. HSBC Holdings plc reports Q4 earnings on February 25, 2026, with consensus EPS ~$1.57; Q3 showed resilient net interest income despite $1.4B in legal provisions.
Boston Scientific’s Q4 caps a transformative year, driven by ~15.5% organic growth from WATCHMAN, FARAPULSE electrophysiology, and MedSurg expansions. As a leader in minimally invasive devices, BSX’s results set the benchmark against Medtronic and Stryker—diversified medtech giants navigating tariffs, procedural rebounds, and innovation.
Arm, the leading provider of energy-efficient processor designs powering over 99% of smartphones and expanding into AI data centers, faces high scrutiny in Q3 FY2026 (ending Dec 31, 2025). After a strong Q2 with record royalty and licensing revenue, investors are focused on whether AI demand will continue to drive robust growth.
Datadog (DDOG) has come under pressure in recent sessions as volatility across the software sector weighs on sentiment ahead of earnings. Trading in the $108–120 range following a pullback from highs near $200, the stock reflects a disconnect between near-term market caution and resilient underlying fundamentals.
Starbucks shares have shown renewed strength in recent trading, rebounding from earlier lows within a 52-week range of $75.50 to $117.46. The recovery reflects improving comparable sales trends and a return to transaction growth, suggesting early progress from operational initiatives aimed at reconnecting with customers.
DoorDash holds a Strong Buy consensus from 33 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $280.82, implying more than 40% upside from recent trading levels.
Amazon’s Q4 report capped a strong year marked by accelerating cloud growth, steady retail execution, and expanding advertising profitability. The results reinforced Amazon’s positioning as a core beneficiary of enterprise AI demand, particularly through AWS, while highlighting improving operating leverage across the broader business.
ConocoPhillips reported Q4 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.02, below consensus of $1.08, driven by weaker realized commodity prices.
ICE reported Q4 2025 net revenues of $2.5 billion, up 8% year-over-year, capping 20 consecutive years of record annual revenues at $9.9 billion.
Eli Lilly’s Q4 results highlight explosive growth from GLP-1 therapies, cementing leadership in obesity and diabetes. The company’s strong revenue beat and robust 2026 guidance illustrate high-growth pharma dynamics. Johnson & Johnson, in contrast, exemplifies a diversified healthcare strategy, combining pharmaceuticals, MedTech, and consumer health for steady expansion.
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Novo Nordisk (NVO) reported Q4 2025 EPS of $1.02, surpassing estimates of $0.92, with revenue of $12.53B vs $11.99B expected. Full-year 2025 sales rose 10% at constant exchange rates (CER) to DKK 309B, but 2026 guidance anticipates a 5–13% decline at CER due to pricing pressures. Novartis (NVS) posted Q4 core EPS of $2.03, beating $1.99 estimates; net sales of $13.34B slightly missed consensus. FY sales grew 8%, with core EPS up 17% to $8.98.
MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) posted Q3 FY2026 profits of ¥1.81 trillion, up 3.7% YoY, on track for its full-year target of ¥2.1 trillion. HSBC is set to report Q4 FY2025 earnings on Feb 25, 2026, with consensus EPS around $1.60; recent quarters showed resilient net interest income (NII) supported by Asia wealth growth.
Gogo shares continue to trade near 52-week lows around $4, weighed down by competitive threats from Starlink and slower-than-anticipated AVANCE system upgrades. William Blair downgraded the stock to Market Perform in December 2025, citing leverage concerns and intensifying rivalry in in-flight connectivity.
Quantum Computing Inc. completed a $110 million acquisition of Luminar Semiconductor on February 2, significantly strengthening its photonics and manufacturing capabilities. Shares have traded with elevated volatility, peaking near $12.70 in mid-January before retreating to the $9 range amid heavy volume.
ERII shares have remained resilient, trading near $15.47 ahead of Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings scheduled for February 25, 2026. Q3 2025 results exceeded expectations, with revenue of $32 million and EPS of $0.07, despite year-over-year declines tied to project timing.
Retail Investor Activity Goes Parabolic - Is Trouble Ahead?