The vaccine rally could be in its early stages of Monday’s trading session is an early indication after the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 900-point rise to mark its best day since early April. Hopes of a vaccine fanned the flames of the hot trading session after a Moderna trial yielded positive results.
Per a CNBC report, “Moderna shares rallied 20% after the company reported “positive” phase one results for a potential coronavirus vaccine. The company said that after two doses all 45 trial participants had developed coronavirus antibodies.”
“Biotechnology-themed exchange-traded funds surged higher late Monday morning as investors rewarded pharmaceutical companies that looked likely to profit from treatments for COVID-19,” a MarketWatch report noted.
For traders, biotech can continue to fuel ETFs like Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: LABU). LABU seeks daily investment results that are equal to 300% of the daily performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index with the majority of its allocations going towards securities of the index and other financial instruments that provide daily leveraged exposure to the index or ETFs that track the index. Furthermore, the index is designed to measure the performance of the biotechnology sub-industry based on the Global Industry Classification Standards.
For investors looking for a non-leveraged option in biotech, there’s the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB). IBB seeks to track the investment results of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, which contains securities of companies listed on NASDAQ that are classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either biotechnology or pharmaceuticals, and that also meet other eligibility criteria determined by Nasdaq, Inc.
The fund generally invests at least 90% of its assets in securities of the index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the index. It may invest the remainder of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents.
One more biotech option worth considering is the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI). This fund seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index derived from the biotechnology segment of a U.S. total market composite index.
In seeking to track the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index (the “index”), the fund employs a sampling strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index represents the biotechnology segment of the S&P Total Market Index (“S&P TMI”).
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