Top 10 Most Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro In 2021: Tesla, Apple, AMC, GameStop And More

Many of Benzinga’s most read stories in 2021 centered on the world of cryptocurrency, with Dogecoin DOGE/USD receiving huge interest from investors and readers. That didn’t stop investors from searching for many different stock tickers on Benzinga Pro throughout the 2021 year.

Here are the ten most searched for tickers on Benzinga Pro in 2021.

1. Tesla Inc TSLA

2021 Return: +49.8%

52-Week Range: $539.49 to $1243.49

Year End Price: $1056.78

Electric vehicle company Tesla was the most searched for ticker on Benzinga Pro in 2021, which likely isn’t a surprise to readers. The ticker was the most searched for in the second quarter and ranked second in the first quarter, third quarter and fourth quarter.

2. Apple Inc AAPL

2021 Return: +33.8%

52-Week Range: $116.21 to $182.13

Year End Price: $177.57

Apple ended the year with a market capitalization of $2.9 trillion, coming close to the $3 trillion mark. The world’s most valuable publicly traded company was the second most searched ticker on Benzinga Pro in 2021. Apple was the most searched for ticker in the third and fourth quarters, and ranked fourth in the first quarter and third in the second quarter.

3. AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC

2021 Return: +1,183.0%

52-Week Range: $1.91 to $72.62

Year End Price: $27.20

Movie theater chain AMC had one of the biggest stories of 2021 with the company became part of a David vs. Goliath story of retail investors versus hedge funds and short sellers. The stock rallied with the “ape” community pushing the way. AMC was the fourth most searched for ticker in the first quarter and the third most searched for ticker in the second quarter.

4. NIO Inc NIO

2021 Return: -35.0%

52-Week Range: $27.52 to $66.99

Year End Price: $31.68

One of only two stocks in the top ten most searched for tickers that ended the year negative was Chinese electric vehicle company Nio. The electric vehicle company could be in for an eventful 2022 with increased competition and China cutting EV subsidies. Investors will be watching to see if expansion into European countries and a rumored U.S. launch could help boost the stock.

Related Link: 10 Best Performing S&P 500 Stocks In 2021 

5. Lucid Group LCID

2021 Return: +280.1%

52-Week Range: $10.00 to $64.86

Year End Price: $38.05

SPACs were a hot topic in 2021 and one of the hottest SPAC mergers of the year was one between Churchill Capital IV and Lucid Motors. Combining the tickers CCIV and LCID, Benzinga Pro users made the electric vehicle company the fifth most searched for ticker in 2021. The company was the fifth most searched ticker in the first quarter and the second half of 2021.

6. GameStop Corp GME

2021 Return: +687.6%

52-Week Range: $17.08 to $483.00

Year End Price: $148.39

Another popular stock in 2021 was video game retailer GameStop, which like AMC was in the middle of the retail investor versus hedge funds and short sellers storyline. Shares of GME were up significantly in January and February. The ticker was the most searched for on Benzinga Pro in the first quarter and ranked seventh in the second quarter. The ticker dropped out of the top ten in the second half of the year.

7. Palantir Technologies PLTR

2021 Return: -22.8%

52-Week Range: $17.06 to $45.00

Year End Price: $18.21

Software and data company Palantir was the seventh most searched for ticker in 2021, its first full year as a public company after a September 2020 IPO at $10 a share. The company was one of the most talked about companies throughout the year and ranked as a top ten searched for ticker in the first and second quarters on Benzinga Pro. The stock was one of two of the top ten most searched tickers with a negative return in 2021.

8. SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF SPY

2021 Return: +27.0%

52-Week Range: $364.82 to $479.00

Year End Price: $474.96

With over $450 billion assets under management, SPY is the largest ETF globally. The ETF mirrors the S&P 500, which holds a basket of 500 of the largest companies in the U.S. One of the common indices used to determine market strength, the S&P 500 beat both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq in 2021, making it the top performing of the three widely used benchmarks. The S&P 500 also hit record highs on 70 occasions in 2021. The ticker was the fourth most searched name on Benzinga Pro in the second half of 2021.

9. Ocugen Inc OCGN

2021 Return: +148.6%

52-Week Range: $1.40 to $18.77

Year End Price: $4.55

Biotech company Ocugen may be the surprise of the top ten and also the smallest by market capitalization at $906 million. Thanks to a COVID-19 vaccine called COVAXIN, the stock was widely discussed on top stock forums in 2021.

10. Advanced Micro Devices AMD

2021 Return: +56.9%

52-Week Range: $72.50 to $164.46

Year End Price: $143.90

The semiconductor company ranked in the top 25 for searches in the first and second quarter. AMD was the eighth most searched stock in the second half of 2021, which could set the company up nicely for a strong 2022.

Honorable Mentions: The next ten most searched tickers in 2021 on Benzinga Pro by number of searches were:

Amazon.com Inc AMZN

NVIDIA Corp NVDA 

Meta Platforms FB

Sundial Growers SNDL

Microsoft Corp MSFT

Virgin Galactic Holdings SPCE

Alibaba Group Holding BABA

Tilray Inc TLRY

Plug Power PLUG

Ford Motor Co F

Disclosure: Author is long LCID, SPCE shares.