ETF Database » PBE

ProShares Launches 2x Leveraged, Inverse Biotech ETFs (BIB, BIS)

Michael Johnston — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:57:42 +0000

ProShares, a leading provider of leveraged and inverse ETFs, announced the launch on Friday of the first ETFs with leveraged and inverse exposure to the biotechnology sector. The Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIB) will seek to provide 200% of the return on the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index for a single day. The UltraShort Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIS) will seek daily returns equal to -200% of the daily movement in the same benchmark. The biotech sector is one of the most crowded corners of the ETF industry. There are currently five variations of biotech ETFs, including funds from iShares (IBB), Merrill Lynch (BBH), State Street (XBI), PowerShares (PBE), and First Trust (FBT). In aggregate, these ETFs have more than $3 billion in assets and trade well more than 1 million shares daily. The largest and most heavily-traded of the biotech ETFs, IBB, tracks the performance of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index to which the new [...]

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Is Your Biotech ETF A Leader Or Laggard?

Michael Johnston — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:00:14 +0000

As the array of ETF product offerings has expanded in recent years, the biotech space has seen significant activity. Currently, there are five biotech ETFs that have accumulated nearly $3.5 billion in aggregate assets. Each of these funds focuses on stocks in the biotechnology industry, and in many cases there is significant overlap between the top holdings. But as the relative performance of these funds so far this year has shown, the biotech ETFs available to U.S. investors are far from identical. Each of the biotech ETFs is up at least 6% so far in 2010, making this sector one of the best performers of the year. But the top-performing biotech ETF is up nearly 25% on the year, a significant return gap between funds that seem, at least on the surface, to be relatively comparable. The significant performance gaps between these funds can be traced to the allocations made [...]

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Which Biotech ETF Is Best For You?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:03:56 +0000

As the ETF industry has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, continued innovation has enabled investors to achieve more granular exposure than ever through exchange-traded products. Diversified ETFs targeting relatively narrow sectors of the domestic and global economy have multiplied, including funds targeting the airline, gaming, insurance, gold mining, timber, and food and beverage industries. But the expansion of the ETF industry has also presented investors with more and more options for achieving their desired exposure within a particular asset class of industry. The large cap blend equities ETFdb Category contains almost 30 ETFs, while there are more than a dozen funds targeting emerging markets. Even within relatively targeted biotechnology industry, there are a handful of ETFs available, including products from iShares, State Street, PowerShares, and First Trust. Some covering the ETF industry point to the presence of five biotech funds as a clear indication of over-saturation in [...]

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Will Obamacare Put Healthcare ETFs On Life Support?

Michael Johnston — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:00:02 +0000

Healthcare reform has been in the news a lot lately, with constant finger-pointing, debate, and competing versions of comprehensive bills. Although the passage of comprehensive reform appears to be less certain that it was only weeks ago, it remains likely that major changes are coming before the end of the year. While many specifics are still up in the air, it is becoming clear that the outcome of this issue could make a major impact from Main Street to Wall Street. So what does all the speculation and proposed reform mean for healthcare ETFs? That all depends on which of the three main types of funds you’re talking about; biotech ETFs, pharmaceutical ETFs, and healthcare provider ETFs each figure to be impacted in a unique manner as this saga plays out. Each comes complete with its own risks and rewards for investing at a tumultuous time in this rapidly-changing industry. [...]

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Biotech ETFs Get Big Boost From HGSI

Michael Johnston — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:25:07 +0000

Biotechnology ETFs enjoyed bug jumps at the beginning of this week, thanks primarily to a huge increase in the stock price of a key component of several funds. Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) has jumped more than 450% over the last week on news that its lupus drug Benlysta showed late-stage success in a clinical trial. The potential breakthrough development – a new lupus treatment hasn’t been approved by the FDA in more than 50 years – spurred hope that the drug could breeze through its second Phase III trials in November and hit the market as soon as late 2010. According to results released by HGSI, 51.7% of patients taking 1 mg of Benlysta experienced improvement, compared to 57.6% of those taking 10 mg and 43.6% taking a placebo. The market seems to believe that, despite a relatively small sample size of 865 patients, the trials indicate the drug [...]

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ETF Database » PBE

ProShares Launches 2x Leveraged, Inverse Biotech ETFs (BIB, BIS)

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Is Your Biotech ETF A Leader Or Laggard?

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Which Biotech ETF Is Best For You?

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Will Obamacare Put Healthcare ETFs On Life Support?

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Biotech ETFs Get Big Boost From HGSI

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