Amid bubble talk and speculation the group has run too far too fast, biotechnology stocks and exchange traded funds have cooled to the point where just one ETF tracking the group is found among this year’s 10 best non-leveraged performers.
That honor goes to the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEArca: XBI), but another fund will get a chance to build on recent gains and a make run back to its all-time highs due to a deluge of biotech earnings this week.
As was the case last week, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NasdaqGS: IBB) will be front and center on the biotech earnings stage. Last week, 17 of the 122 stocks in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, IBB’s underlying index, reported earnings, lifting IBB to a weekly gain of 3.3%. [Earnings Could Lift Big Biotech ETF]
This week brings another 22 earnings reports from members of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. That group includes Regeneron Pharmacueticals (NasdaqGM: REGN). Reporting on Tuesday, Regeneron is the fifth-largest stock in the Index, up 9.6% in the last month and 80.7% in the last 12 months, according to David Krein, Head of Research, NASDAQ Global Indexes.
Regeneron is also IBB’s fifth-largest holding with a weight of 6.6%. IBB is the largest biotech with $4.9 billion in assets under management. The fund was last year’s best non-leveraged health care ETF and has ranked among the 10 best non-leveraged ETFs of any type for three consecutive years. [Two ETFs Vie to be Best in Health Care Group]