These are the shares UK investors were buying last week

The FTSE 100 rose 0.5% last week, suggesting the UK’s largest share index is on the way up. But which individual shares were popular with UK investors over the past week, both inside and outside the FTSE 100? Let’s take a look.

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Which shares have UK investors been buying recently?

According to Hargreaves Lansdown, these were the most-bought shares among its UK clients last week, in terms of the number of deals:

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most interesting companies that feature on this list.

Polymetal International plc 

Anglo-Russian precious metals mining company Polymetal International was the top share to buy among UK investors last week. Earlier this year, the Polymetal share price stood north of 1,000 GBX, before crashing in late February due to the impact of possible sanctions on the company following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, Polymetal has since stated its operations ‘continue undisrupted.’ Its share price has risen from a low of 92 GBX in early March to 254 GBX as of 28 March. Given the company was the most popular buy last week, many investors clearly believe the company is undervalued. 

Lloyds Banking Group plc

Another company featuring on the list of most-bought shares last week is Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyds shares are down 1.32% since the turn of the year, following a stellar 2021. Last year, Lloyds’ share price rose almost 30% within the space of 12 months.

Given its inclusion on the list of most bought shares, it’s clear to see that investors believe Lloyd’s shares have the potential to rise this year, though perhaps not as significantly as they did in 2021.

Tesla Inc

Run by an eccentric CEO, Tesla often features on the list of most-bought shares. In 2020, shares in the electric car manufacturer skyrocketed 740%, while 2021 saw Tesla gain roughly 50%.

However, 2022 has been a far less impressive year for Elon Musk’s company. So far this year, Tesla shares have fallen 15.7%. Despite this, its share price has remained volatile. For example, so far in March Tesla shares are up 20%, while in January, its share price fell 21%.

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Which FTSE 100 stocks have UK investors been selling recently?

Now we’ve taken a look at the most popular shares to buy, here are the shares that were most offloaded by UK investors last week:

What can we learn from this information?

Taking a closer look at the shares investors have chosen to buy and sell over the past week can give an indication of how the market predicts certain shares will perform in future.

It can also give an indication as to the overall appetite that UK investors have for volatile stocks. Such stocks are typically preferred by active investors hoping to make a quick buck out of short-term price swings.

That being said, investors shouldn’t use past results to give an indication of future performance. That’s because the market is typically always one-step ahead.

A far better strategy is for investors to do their own research before choosing stocks to invest in. As with any investing, the value of an investment can rise and fall. Our investing basics guide explains more tips.

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