Retail investors make a surprising move on Palantir, Microsoft, and other software stocks
Key takeaways
- The analysis: This month, breaking from prior patterns, retail investors have begun trimming their exposure to software stocks, JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain wrote in a note on Thursday.
- By contrast, retail investors have continued adding to semiconductor positions this month as names such as Intel (INTC) have soared.
- Read more: How to protect your portfolio from an AI bubble
Retail investors make a surprising move on Palantir, Microsoft, and other software stocks Brian Sozzi · Executive Editor Thu, May 14, 2026 at 10:45 PM GMT+7 2 min read PLTR MSFT INTC TSLA SMH Retail investors are booking some profits on several of their favorite stocks.
The analysis: This month, breaking from prior patterns, retail investors have begun trimming their exposure to software stocks, JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain wrote in a note on Thursday. In particular, investors are lightening the load on Microsoft (MSFT) and Palantir (PLTR). Microsoft, for example, has shifted from the second-most-bought stock in April (behind Tesla (TSLA)) to the second-most-sold stock month to date in May and the most-sold stock last week.
By contrast, retail investors have continued adding to semiconductor positions this month as names such as Intel (INTC) have soared. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) continue to see strong inflows, while their buying into the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) remained robust after more than quadrupling last week.