The Single Stock Shuffle: Defense & Nuclear Explode, Big Tech Bleeds

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Single Stock ETF channel kicked off the year with a volatile mix of “risk-off” selling in the majors and explosive “risk-on” buying in niche themes. Total assets settled at $38 Billion across 407 ETFs from 17 Issuers. Despite the long-term trend remaining positive, traders took chips off the table this week, resulting in net outflows of ($403M). The 1-year flow picture remains robust at +$24.2B, but the immediate sentiment signaled a pause in the leverage party for big tech.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Defense and Energy stocks absolutely skyrocketed this week, leaving the usual tech darlings in the dust. Kratos Defense and AeroVironment surged over 40%, fueled by heightened geopolitical tensions and renewed sector rotation. Meanwhile, the clean energy trade roared back to life with Bloom Energy and nuclear play Oklo posting massive double-digit gains. On the flip side, eToro and NIO faced steep selling pressure, while semiconductor giant AMD stumbled, dragging down sentiment across the chip complex.

Top & Bottom Underlying Stock Performance (WTD)

Ticker Underlying Stock Week-To-Date Return Year-To-Date Return Number of Funds Following Stock
Top Performers
KTOS Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. 43.40% 49.78% 1
AVAV AeroVironment, Inc. 42.47% 50.89% 1
BE Bloom Energy Corporation Class A 35.85% 54.30% 2
OKLO Oklo Inc. Class A 35.36% 46.75% 2
APLD Applied Digital Corporation 34.04% 53.67% 1
Bottom Performers
ETOR eToro Group Ltd. Class A -11.38% -9.99% 1
NIO NIO Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A -9.73% -9.02% 1
RBLX Roblox Corp. Class A -9.49% -9.58% 1
ALAB Astera Labs, Inc. -9.44% -2.25% 1
AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. -9.08% -5.13% 9

Weekly Performance: The Winners and Losers

The leverage effect was on full display this week. KTUP was the undisputed king, nearly doubling in value as Kratos Defense rallied, showcasing the explosive power of 2x leverage in a breakout tape. On the downside, betting against the nuclear renaissance was a painful trade, with OKLS (Short Oklo) cratering over 50% in just five days.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
KTUP T-REX 2X Long KTOS Daily Target ETF 97.61%
AVXX Defiance Daily Target 2x Long AVAV ETF 95.98%
BEX Tradr 2X Long BE Daily ETF 79.59%
BEG Leverage Shares 2x Long BE Daily ETF 79.41%
OKLL Defiance Daily Target 2x Long OKLO ETF 77.59%
Bottom Performers
OKLS Defiance Daily Target 2X Short OKLO ETF -51.58%
RKLZ Defiance Daily Target 2x Short RKLB ETF -23.04%
ETRL GraniteShares 2x Long ETOR Daily ETF -22.20%
LABX Tradr 2X Long ALAB Daily ETF -19.13%
NIOG Leverage Shares 2X Long NIO Daily ETF -19.06%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

Sentiment shifted decisively into “Risk Off” territory this week, or perhaps more accurately, “Profit Taking.” Every major category saw red, but the Levered bucket bled the most, shedding $320M as traders reduced exposure to high-beta names. Even Income strategies weren’t spared, signaling a broad-based retreat to the sidelines.

Where the Money Went This Week

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Currency Hedged 10 $19.4M $2M ($5M) ($6M) $2M $7M
Inverse 46 $1,297.9M ($34M) ($43M) ($623M) ($52M) $1,405M
Synthetic Income 101 $10,015.6M ($51M) ($305M) $2,211M ($112M) $14,110M
Levered 244 $26,210.7M ($320M) ($131M) $5,564M ($851M) $8,669M

Flow Leaders & Laggards: The ETF Tale of the Tape

The Tesla trade is back with a vengeance—TSLL pulled in a massive $423M this week, proving that conviction in Musk remains high despite broader volatility. In stark contrast, Nvidia bulls seem to be experiencing exhaustion; NVDL saw a staggering $321M walk out the door, the heaviest bleed in the channel.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
TSLL Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 2X Shares $423M
PLTU Direxion Daily PLTR Bull 2X Shares $40M
RGTZ Defiance Daily Target 2x Short RGTI ETF $26M
TSLY YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF $23M
RKLZ Defiance Daily Target 2x Short RKLB ETF $22M
Outflows
NVDL GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF ($321M)
GGLL Direxion Daily GOOGL Bull 2X Shares ($83M)
TSLR GraniteShares 2x Long TSLA Daily ETF ($80M)
ASTX Tradr 2X Long ASTS Daily ETF ($78M)
TSLQ Tradr 2X Short TSLA Daily ETF ($66M)

Issuer League Table Update

Direxion solidified its dominance this week, commanding over 30% of market share and winning the flow war with a healthy $244M intake. GraniteShares took a heavy hit on the chin, with over $400M in outflows, largely driven by the sharp reversal in Nvidia sentiment.

The Heavyweights: Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
Direxion 51 $11.35B 30.23%
GraniteShares 56 $8.33B 22.17%
YieldMax 41 $7.83B 20.85%
Defiance 49 $2.90B 7.73%
T-Rex 33 $2.60B 6.92%

Weekly Flows: Issuer Edition

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
Direxion $244M
Leverage Shares $41M
Defiance $18M
Outflows
GraniteShares ($428M)
Tradr ($157M)
Roundhill ($50M)

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Thematic ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.