Amgen (NasdaqGS: AMGN), Biogen (NasdaqGS: BIIB), Gilead Sciences (NasdaqGS: GILD) and the other marquee biotechnology names have already delivered quarterly earnings, but this still promises to be an epic week on the earnings front for the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NasdaqGM: IBB).
IBB allocates over 40% of its combined weight to Gilead, Celgen (NasdaqGS: CELG), Amgen, Biogen and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: ALXN). Although those companies have already reported, more than 24% of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, IBB’ s underlying index, reports this week. [Technical Take on the Big Biotech ETF]
Regeneron (NasdaqGS: REGN) is the largest IBB constituent reporting this week. The company steps into the earnings confessional Thursday. Regeneron is IBB’s sixth-largest holding at a weight of almost 4.1%. Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: JAZZ) is the second-largest IBB holding reporting. IBB allocates 1.98% to Jazz, making it the ETF’s 12th-largest holding, according to iShares data.
Overall, 64 of IBB’s 122 members deliver results this week with the earnings deluge for the ETF coming just as the fund has been showing some signs of life.
IBB and its rival biotech ETFs have been among the poster children for the lost momentum trade. For its part, IBB has tumbled almost 16.2% since February 25, a decline that was arguably hastened by talk of biotech bubble. [Investors Leave Once Beloved Health Care ETFs]
As investors fled IBB and other biotech ETFs, the coverage given to rough patch hit by these ETFs, not surprisingly, outweighed what was afforded the funds on the way up. After all, IBB was one of the top-10 non-leveraged sector ETFs in 2011, 2012 and 2013, a factoid that has not received much attention.