A bunch of biotechs being added to the QQQs:
Nasdaq announces index reshufflings
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 9:11 AM ET Dec. 17, 2001
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The Nasdaq announced on Monday its annual index reshuffling, with a cluster of new biotech firms joining the index as a cadre of Internet and technology services firms exit.
"The re-ranking is based on a number of objective criteria, with market capitalization a key factor," said John Jacobs, president and chief executive officer of Nasdaq Financial Products Services, a Nasdaq subsidiary, in a statement.
"Scheduled re-rankings improve each index's value as a benchmark for investors and as metrics in the media and public domain," Jacobs added.
The annual re-jiggering allows the Nasdaq 100 Index ($NDX: news, chart, profile) to better reflect the current economy. The index dates back to January 1985 and is comprised of Nasdaq stocks with the largest market cap. The triple "Qs," which trade on the Amex, track the Nasdaq 100 and can be bought or sold like individual stocks (QQQ: news, chart, profile). The QQQs began trading in March 1999.
The annual re-ranking are timed to coincide with "triple-witching," a quarterly event that sees the simultaneous expiration of futures, options on individual stocks and options on stock indexes.
Nasdaq said that 23 domestic funds and seven international funds are linked to the Nasdaq 100 Index. The annual re-rankings produce movements in the stocks exiting and entering as fund managers scramble to adjust their portfolios to reflect the announced changes.
Nasdaq said 13 companies will be added to the Nasdaq 100: ImClone Systems (IMCL: news, chart, profile), Charter Communications (CHTR: news, chart, profile), CDW Computer Centers (CDWC: news, chart, profile), Symantec Corp. (SYMC: news, chart, profile), Sepracor (SEPR: news, chart, profile), Invitrogen Corp. (IVGN: news, chart, profile), Express Scripts (ESRX: news, chart, profile), Cephalon (CEPH: news, chart, profile), ICOS Corp. (ICOS: news, chart, profile), Cytyc Corp. (CYTC: news, chart, profile), Protein Design Labs (PDLI: news, chart, profile), Integrated Device Technology (IDTI: news, chart, profile) and Synopsys (SNPS: news, chart, profile).
Stocks that have been bumped out of the index can rejoin if they meet Nasdaq's criteria. Two stocks rejoined the Nasdaq 100 this year: Synopsys and Symantec.
The exiting companies included: Ariba (ARBA: news, chart, profile), BriadVision (BVSN: news, chart, profile), CMGI (CMGI: news, chart, profile), CNet Networks (CNET: news, chart, profile), 3Com (COMS: news, chart, profile), Inktomi (INKT: news, chart, profile), Level 3 Communications (LVLT: news, chart, profile), McLeod (MCLD: news, chart, profile), Metromedia Fiber Network (MFNX: news, chart, profile), Novell (NOVL: news, chart, profile), Palm (PALM: news, chart, profile), Parametic Technology (PMTC: news, chart, profile) and RealNetworks (RNWK: news, chart, profile).
These additions have been rumored for a while, so it's not clear if the news is in the stocks yet. As IJ has pointed out, the index funds need to buy some 4.2m shares of SEPR on 12/21, which is a big chunk of the float.
Peter |
