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Best Stocks for Swing Trading and Where to Buy Them

Our guide evaluates company fundamentals, market performance, and growth potential to inform our stock picks.
Chris Williams
Author: 
Chris Williams
Idil Woodall
Editor: 
Idil Woodall
32 mins
November 13th, 2023
Advertiser Disclosure

Swing trading stocks can be a great way for investors to take advantage of short-term stock market movements and gain significant returns. If you're interested in swing trading, the key to success lies in selecting the right stocks to buy and sell quickly for a profit.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are some stocks that tend to be ideal for swing trading due to their volatility, liquidity, and potential returns. One swing trading strategy is to focus on large-cap stocks that have high liquidity, allowing for easy buying and selling. Here, we provide thoroughly researched recommendations based on the fundamentals, performance, and growth potential of various stocks to help you get started on the right foot. We aim to provide valuable insights to assist your investment decisions, whether you are a seasoned swing trader or new to swing trading.

Swing Trading Stocks Overview

Stock

Code

Price

Market Cap

Hedge Fund Holders

Alphabet Inc.

NASDAQ: GOOG

$138.58

$1.29T

3274

Walt Disney

NYSE: DIS

$84.35

$198.1B

2916

Paypal

NASDAQ: PYPL

$55.75

$92.9B

2964

Shopify

NYSE: SHOP

$51.55

$53.3.B

1310

Microsoft Corporation

NASDAQ: MSFT

$327.73

$1.8T

5973

Meta Platforms Inc

NASDAQ: META

$314.69

$395.9B

2627

Netflix Inc

NASDAQ: NFLX

$355.68

$157.5B

2383

Tesla Inc

NASDAQ: TSLA

$251.12

$546.9B

2619

Apple

NASDAQ: AAPL

$178.85

$2.28T

5505

Amazon.com, Inc

NASDAQ: AMZN

$129.79

$1.05T

3949

*Data applicable as of December 2024.

Best Platform For Swing Trading

eToro8.7Visitetoro.com

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. Your capital is at risk. 76% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Alphabet Inc

Alphabet is a multinational conglomerate formed by the restructuring of Google in 2015. It is known for its search engine and many other web-based services such as Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Android, Chrome OS, and more. The company has seen tremendous growth due to its focus on innovation and technological advancements which have allowed it to maintain its competitive edge in the tech industry for years.

The outfit is headquartered in California, USA, and is one of the Big Five tech companies in the world alongside Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. The founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are not majority shareholders but still have 51.1% of the shareholder voting power, giving them significant control over the company’s direction.

Alphabet’s chatbot, Bard, is one of Google's newest products and it seeks to rival Open AI's ChatGPT. Though there hasn't seen much success yet, Bard is powered by Google's neural network and has been trained on millions of conversations from around the web.

The potential success of the chatbot could put Alphabet at the forefront of conversational AI technology. It could also bring new opportunities for Alphabet to expand its business and increase its revenue.

From an investor's perspective, the most promising aspect of Alphabet Inc. is its strong and reliable cash flow, which makes it an attractive swing trading stock. Overall, GOOG stock has been in an uptrend for several years with some corrections during bear cycles or fundamental news events. The company’s massive scale gives it a competitive advantage over smaller competitors as its subsidiaries continue to expand.

Walt Disney Co.

Walt Disney is a multimedia and diversified entertainment conglomerate known for its film-studio division Walt Disney Studios.

Brothers Walt and Roy Disney found the company in 1923, and have since grown into a household name.

Disney is now chaired by Bob Iger – who also serves as the CEO. Its recent growth can be attributed to its fresh focus on streaming services, which has kept the company competitive in the rapidly changing media landscape.

The company established two divisions and four content groups including notable subsidiaries such as Marvel Studios, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, and sports media giant ESPN.

As of March 2023, the company began laying off workers and plans to lay off a total of 7,000 workers in the coming months. The trade unions have reached a tentative agreement with the company to increase the starting minimum wage from $15 to $18 an hour by the end of the year.

The layoffs and wage increases are expected to have different impacts on Disney's stock price in the short term. It's likely to result in reduced expenditure due to a lower headcount, but the proposed wage increase could lead to higher labor costs. It's difficult to predict how the stock price will behave in the short term, but investors may appreciate the wage increase as it demonstrates accountability and commitment to workers.

Overall, DIS stock has been in an uptrend, swing trading to an all-time high of over $200 in March 2021. It is a suitable swing trading stock due to its high liquidity, corporate stability, and diversification in multiple markets.

Paypal Holdings Inc.

A pioneer in the fintech industry, Paypal is one of the world’s largest online payment platforms with over 400 million active users in more than 200 countries and regions. The company currently operates as a payment processor, digital wallet, and cryptocurrency exchange.

Over the years, the firm has seen tremendous growth due to its acquisitions of other payment companies such as Venmo and Xoom.

Since its inception, the outfit set the standards for fintech platforms in terms of usability and functionality. Recently, it secured a conditional cryptocurrency license from the New York State Department of Financial Services, allowing users to purchase and transfer cryptocurrencies. This signalled a new era for Paypal and could be a major driver of growth in the future.

Paypal is an attractive swing trading stock as its business model is highly profitable. The company also has a strong foothold in the e-commerce sector, meaning that it is likely to experience further growth in the future.

Shopify

Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company founded in 2004 by Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake. The company provides an online platform for businesses to manage their websites, products, and payments in one place. Shopify is also a popular platform for dropshipping businesses, allowing merchants to store products in their warehouses and have them shipped directly to customers.

The company has partnered with Google Cloud to integrate its Cloud Discovery AI solution directly into online stores. This can allow businesses to provide accurate search results and personalized product displays.

The partnership between Shopify and Google Cloud is a notable development that could help merchants increase their sales and improve customer experience. This could give a boost to Shopify's stock value as it is likely to encourage customer retention, and ultimately sales.

SHOP stock experienced a strong uptrend for several years, swing trading to a high of $169 in November 2021. This was followed by a steady decline in 2022 following the overall bearish sentiment and the presence of competitors like Woocommerce and Bigcommerce weighing on the stock. However, Shopify remains an attractive swing trading stock due to its strong fundamentals and potential for further growth as businesses continue to move online.

Microsoft

Microsoft is one of the most recognizable brands engaging in the development and commercialization of computer software, consumer electronics, cloud services, and other related products. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company has made strategic acquisitions over the years to help expand its operations.

The outfit has evolved over time to become an industry leader, pioneering numerous novel technologies such as AI development and cloud computing. Its acquisition of LinkedIn and Skype Technologies marked the beginning of a new era for the company. Mergers as such allowed it to venture into new markets and build up its presence across the tech industry.

We've also seen Microsoft at the forefront of AI development. The company is one of the major investors of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The conversational AI tool saw massive adoption, raking up millions of users within the first few weeks of its launch. This spike in adoption has resulted in positive feedback from investors and analysts alike.

Analysts note that there is potential for ChatGPT to become the go-to AI platform for businesses. This has helped the stock price steadily increase, as investors have become more confident in the company's future prospects.

Microsoft has a strong stock performance history with an upward trend, making it a suitable swing trading stock for investors.

Facebook

Facebook is a social media company that was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. It's a popular platform that people use to connect with friends and family, and for businesses to advertise their products and services.

The company has grown enormously, with over 2.5 billion people using it every month in 2021. This large number of users allows Facebook to make money from ads and try out new features such as Facebook Live and Instagram Reels.

In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion. This helped the company stay ahead in the social media world and recover some of its lost value on the stock market.

Like many tech companies, Facebook plans to lay off over 10,000 workers in 2023 to increase efficiency. After the first round of layoffs, the company's stock price, called META, went up 30% in one day. The company is also working on VR technology and artificial intelligence to make its platform more engaging.

Because of its global presence, META has been successful on the stock market, with record-high prices in September 2021. Although there were concerns about privacy and legal issues that caused the stock to decline gradually in 2022, it has been on an upward trend with a gain of over 200% between October 2022 and March 2023. If Facebook's cost-cutting plans are successful, META's value is likely to continue rising.

Netflix

A pioneer in the streaming industry, Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Originally a DVD-by-mail service, Netflix was the first on-demand online streaming success story. As of 2021, its subscribers surpassed 200 million, and the company maintains an unparalleled geographic reach.

The firm continues to hold the top spot with a stock market cap of over $200 billion, despite the difficulties it has encountered from streaming rivals like Hulu, Disney, and Amazon Prime Video.

In response to competition from Amazon, HBO, and Disney, Netflix has recently launched a series of fee cuts in different countries. This move signals the company's determination to remain competitive in the streaming stock market and to continue providing its subscribers with content at a lower price.

While there may be some short-term disruption to profits due to the fee cuts, over time these will likely be offset as Netflix gains more subscribers. This could lead to a surge in stock prices as increased demand leads to higher revenue.

Besides its impressive library, Netflix also continues to invest in its technology to remain at the forefront of streaming services. In 2022, the company launched its new cloud gaming software and in 2023, announced plans to open an engineering hub in its Warsaw office. These reasons and more make it an attractive swing trading stock, as investors seek to capitalize on the company's continued success.

Tesla

Tesla is an American automaker and energy storage company founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003. After investing $6.5 million, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder and stepped in to become the CEO.

The company manufactures a variety of revolutionary products including electric cars, solar panels, and rechargeable batteries with residential and commercial applications. It has seen tremendous success in recent years due to its focus on innovation and forward-thinking technologies such as self-driving cars, clean energy, and automated charging stations.

After swing trading to a high of $400 in November 2021, TSLA stock saw a gradual decline in 2022 due to the decline in investor confidence following Musk’s Twitter takeover, and the series of lawsuits filed he faced. However, the company’s stock has been swing trading upward since January 2023. These recent gains can be maintained should the company overcome its current challenges.

Despite these setbacks, Tesla remains a highly respected automaker and an industry trailblazer with a strong foundation. Its dedication to innovation, sustainable energy production, and growth potential make it a promising stock for swing trading.

Apple

Apple is a popular technology company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The company is well-known for its iPhones, iPads, Macbooks, and iMacs, which have helped make Apple a household name and a leader in the industry. The company has also diversified into various other industries such as music streaming, e-commerce, and cloud computing.

Apple has been a top-performing stock in recent years due to its focus on innovation and product development. The company is continuously upgrading its products. On June 5, 2023, Apple plans to unveil the next versions of its operating systems which could lead to a surge in its stock prices, as they have done in the past.

Recently, Apple launched 'Pay Later', a service that allows customers to split their payments into four instalments. This service has the potential to increase customer loyalty and revenue for Apple and its shareholders.

With its strong presence in multiple industries, competitive pricing, and solid product portfolio, Apple is a great swing trading stock. It offers investors a range of products that they can leverage for additional revenue, making it an attractive option for swing trading.

Amazon

Amazon is one of the world's largest e-commerce companies and online marketplaces. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the company has grown exponentially to become one of the biggest players in the industry with over 150 million active users worldwide. The firm offers a wide range of products and services such as ebooks, electronics, apparel, food, software, and home products.

Its presence goes beyond retail shopping as it also offers cloud computing services through its Amazon Web Services division, which provides a platform for businesses to store data and create applications leveraging AWS’s infrastructure capabilities.

In a memo to the company’s workers, Amazon’s CEO stated that the company would lay off over 9,000 employees soon, following suit with other tech giants. This decision was primarily made to down costs and increase efficiency as part of a larger business strategy aimed at helping the company to remain competitive.

Amazon is also reportedly looking to purchase AMC Entertainment. This move is indicative of Amazon’s continued focus on diversifying its services and expanding its offerings on Prime Video.

Amazon is a great swing trading stock due to its strong presence in multiple industries and its razor focus on innovation. It has seen consistent growth in the last few years which signals the strong potential for investors looking to benefit from its performance.

Best Platforms for Swing Trading Stocks

1. eToro - Best Swing Trading Platform for Beginners

eToro8.7Visitetoro.com

Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

Combining social trading functionalities with low costs, eToro is an excellent choice for beginner investors interested in swing trading. The platform supports an intuitive and clean design and a straightforward swing trading mechanism. When placing swing trades, users can set stop loss orders and can see overnight/weekend charges at a glance.

While offering exposure to a good number of markets and asset classes, research is not eToro’s best suit. It lacks the functional screener that its competitors usually have – yet the lack of moving parts results in simplicity and ease of use. Novice swing traders can also benefit from eToro Academy, which holds far-reaching educational materials categorised by topics and level of knowledge and play around using the demo account and up to $100,000 in virtual funds.

Account minimum deposit

$50

Deposit fees

$5

Withdrawal fees

$0

Inactivity fee

$10/mo

Account fee

$0

2. Robinhood - Best Trading Platform with Low Trading Fees

Robinhood6.0Visitrobinhood.com

Robinhood is an online brokerage platform that has become popular for its zero-commission stock trading and offering of fractional shares. At its core, buying fractional shares allows swing traders to purchase a unit of a whole share, and provides an opportunity to be invested in high-priced stocks with just a few dollars. You can invest in the best stocks under 2$ if you're interested in starting small.

Along with their main feature of no-commission swing trading, Robinhood does not charge for any returned check or ACH fees, domestic or international wire transfers, paper statements, or swing trade confirmations. However, the company charges a $20 fee for domestic overnight check delivery and a 1.5% fee for withdrawals using a debit card.

Account minimum deposit

$0

Deposit fees

$0

Withdrawal fees

1.5% fee for withdrawals using a debit card

Account fee

$0

Demo Account

No

3. Fidelity - Best Swing Trading Platform for Advanced Swing Traders

Fidelity Investment7.5Visitfidelity.com

Fidelity is a well-known discount brokerage that offers customers the ability to good swing trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and options on 25 international markets with 16 different currencies. It stands out from competitors by charging no fees for transactions such as outgoing transfers, bank wires, and insufficient funds.

Additionally, Fidelity's swing trading platform provides powerful functionalities such as real-time streaming quotes and charting tools that are available on its web-based or mobile apps (iOS, Android, and Windows).

The basic web-based solution doesn't have any fees or eligibility requirements associated with it while its advanced platform (Fidelity Active Trader Pro®) is designed for active swing traders without additional costs.

Account minimum deposit

$0

Account fee

$0

KYC Required

Yes

Demo Account

No

What Is Swing Trading?

Swing trading stocks are purchased to be held for periods lasting weeks to months. The goal is to benefit from short-term trends and turn a profit from potential price moves over a set period. It involves the process of identifying a stock valuation which will potentially move up soon, and capturing the profit from the movement if it happens by setting an exit position timely.

Some swing traders prefer volatile assets while others stick with more moderate stocks, which largely boils down to personal preference that is also dependent on the level of commitment and market acumen. When choosing a broker, the overnight fees are crucial for swing traders as the positions are kept open for a long time.

Risks and Benefits Involved in Swing Trading

Swing trading comes with both advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to understand them before trading. Here are some points to consider;

Pros
  • It’s a Relatively Relaxed Strategy – Swing trading requires less commitment than day trading, which includes opening and closing positions in very short intervals.
  • Fewer Transaction Costs – Since fewer swing trades occur over time; therefore, per transaction costs tend to be smaller.
  • Potentially More Consistent Returns – Although focusing on the short-term trends means smaller gains, it also helps minimize the losses and when done frequently over time, it may result in compounding of returns.
Cons
  • Exposure to Overnight and Weekend Risk – The market movements are considered risky outside of working hours.
  • Timing Difficulties – Swing traders may also miss out on potential gains if prices move quickly while they are waiting for an optimal entry point.
  • Patience Testing – The biggest drawback is that it requires patience as swing traders have to wait for the right entry point and exit points.

How Much Money Do You Need to Start Swing Trading?

As a general rule of investing, risk management is key – and with swing trading stocks, it is no different. The starting capital depends on several factors such as the type of stock traders choose to invest in and the preferred broker. Some brokers have a high minimum deposit amount which means you may need more money to begin, while others have no minimum deposit.

It's possible to good swing trade stocks as low as $100. However, regardless of the starting capital, it's crucial to note that a low swing trading capital could mean lower risk overall, but the potential for substantial gains and portfolio diversification might be limited, and vice versa.

Get started with eToro

eToro8.7Visitetoro.com

Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

Further Reading

  • The investing term swing trading refers to individuals who buy securities intending to capture gains in a matter of days or weeks. A swing trader looks to profit from stocks, options, and futures contracts exhibiting short-term price momentum.
  • The investing term scalping refers to individuals that hold a large number of securities for a very short period of time with the hope of profiting from small movements in the price of the security. Scalpers will conduct these trades in common stocks, bonds, derivatives, commodities as well as foreign currency.
  • The investing term day trading refers to individuals that buy and sell securities throughout the day, closing out their positions before the markets close. Trades include several standard securities, including stocks, options, and futures (currencies, commodities, interest rates).
  • Generally, investors buy common stocks for two reasons: they offer a cash dividend, and they also have the potential to provide a capital gain. In this article, we will present a method for calculating stock prices based on a constant growth model, leveraging a discounted cash flows approach which considers both dividends and capital gains.

FAQ

What is the best stock trading platform for beginners?
What is the best stock trading platform?
How do I teach myself to swing trade stocks?
Which investment platform is best for stock traders?
What are the best swing trading Platforms like Robinhood?

Explore Investing Further

  • Trading has never been easier, thanks to the rise of online platforms that enable you to buy and sell various assets at the click of a button. But with so many options available, it can be challenging to decide which platform is right for you.
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  • The table below lists the best stock picks under $2, listed on public exchanges.
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  • Hour Loop was founded in 2013 with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It’s an online retailer involved in e-commerce in the United States that hit the public markets on Jan 7th of 2022. The company sells home/garden decor, electronic products, kitchenware, and apparel through walmart.com, amazon.com, and hourloop.com.

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Contributors

Chris Williams
With a masters in Business administration, Christopher is a financial content writer with a knack for crafting articles, blogs and insightful reviews about all areas of finance. His passion for writing led him to work as a full-time writer for forex brokers (DecodeFx, Keytomarkets) and crypto blogs (Bitcompare), creating educational pieces for investors and traders around the world. In his spare time, he runs a crypto YouTube channel while learning about ways to help his readers make better financial decisions.
Idil Woodall
Idil is a writer with interests ranging from arts and politics to history and finance. She spent several years in publishing before becoming a full-time writer, and learning the inner workings of an industry she loved ignited her interest in economics. As an English graduate, she cultivated valuable research and storytelling abilities that she now applies to make complex matters accessible and understandable to many. When she’s not writing, she can be found climbing or watching a movie.
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