Alnylam and ISIS Lead Mid-Cap Stocks
XBI Leads the Biotech ETFs for August 25–31
XBI’s top ten mid-cap stocks outperform
In the mid-cap space, going by market cap (capitalization), the top ten mid-cap stocks from the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) outperformed the top ten stocks from the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) for August 25–31.
XBI’s top ten mid-cap stocks returned 5.23%, IBB’s top ten mid-cap stocks gained 5.12%, and XLV’s top ten mid-cap stocks rose 2.51%.
The above graph reflects the performance comparison of the top ten mid-cap stocks from each ETF.
Alnylam and ISIS lead the mid-cap stocks
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) has a weight of 1.60% in IBB and 1.15% in XBI. The stock gained 10.89% for August 25–31. The stock went up on the news of initial positive results from the company’s ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial with ALN-PCSsc for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. ALN-PCSsc is an investigational RNA interference (or RNAi) therapeutic, which targets PCSK9.
ISIS Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) has a weight of 0.94% in XBI and 1.15% in IBB. It has a market cap of ~$6 billion. The stock gained 13.66% for August 25–31, 2015. The stock closed low at $44.15 on August 24 and was oversold. ISIS bounced back with higher trading volumes for the week. The average five-day trading volumes were ~1.99 million shares per day.
On the other hand, Patterson Companies (PDCO) dragged the performance of XLV’s top ten mid-cap stocks and went down by 4.10%. The company announced its 1Q16 earnings. It reported a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income of $20.3 million compared to $38.3 million in the first quarter of the last fiscal year.
The company reported sales of $1.1 billion, up 22% over the same period last year. The company also announced the completion of the sale of its medical business to Madison Dearborn Partners.
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