Spdr S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)

[treehouse1]

$78.03 - looked good today, strong throughout the day.

[joe_techi]

OPK (1.25% of XBI) beaten up yet XBI still up. When OPK turns upward, which it will, good all around
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/opko-health-reports-weak-2q15-230625373.html

[treehouse1]

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF: XBI - A Closer Look
by Motley Fool on Sep 8, 2015

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/09/08/spdr-sp-biotech-etf-a-closer-look.aspx?source=eogyholnk0000001

Biotech stocks are not for the faint of heart.

The majority of publicly traded biotechs are not yet profitable, which leads investors to value them by guessing about the future revenue potential of their pipeline based on how well drugs perform in clinical trails. Breaking news can lead to wild price swings, both good and bad, which scares away many investors from the sector. While I understand the trepidation, I think it's a mistake to simply ignore investing in biotech completely, as winning biotech stock returns can be extraordinary.

So how can risk-averse investors add biotech exposure to their portfolio without having to take individual company risk? One easy way is to buy into an exchange-traded fund, or ETF, that owns a huge basket of biotech stocks. One such ETF that might be worthy of consideration is the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA:XBI).

Investors in this ETF have enjoyed a terrific long-term ride, as the returns since it first launched in 2006 have simply crushed the S&P 500. The annualized return since hitting the markets is currently a blistering 19.27%.

Of course, just because an ETF (or mutual fund, or stock) has performed well in the past doesn't necessarily mean it will perform as great going forward. To get a sense of what investors can expect from this ETF in the future, it's helpful to crack it open to how the fund operates.

Currently, this fund holds 103 companies, which immediately offers investors great diversification. What's particularly interesting to me is that this fund uses an "equal-weight" strategy for sizing its investments. An equal-weight strategy simply means that all of the companies held in the fund are given the same initial weighting, regardless of the size of the company. Most other stock market indexes use a "weighted average market capitalization" system, in which more of the fund's money is invested in larger companies and less in smaller ones.

While I tend to like ETFs that use equal weighing, it's important for investors to understand that smaller-cap companies tend to be a bit more volatile, and that's especially true of biotech stocks, which means this ETF might be more prone to even more volatility than a weighted-average ETF would be.

A few numbers jump out at me. With an expense ratio of just 0.35%, this fund is a cheap way for investors to gain immediate diversification in the biotech sector. However, it also has a high turnover ratio of 86%, which means the fund is regularly adding and subtracting stocks, which can lead to higher taxes for shareholders -- though given the incredible performance of the fund, I doubt this has bothered most investors.

Another number to watch is that very high price-to-prospective earnings ratio of 30, which is far higher than the S&P 500's 19. However, seeing a high number shouldn't be all that surprising, especially since almost half of the companies the biotech fund holds don't even have a drug on the market yet, so profits could be a long ways away -- and this is just the nature of the industry.

The vast majority of assets are in the medium-, small- and micro-cap spectrum of biotech. So far, this strategy has produced some stellar returns, and the broad exposure of the fund should give some investors comfort, but the trend bears noting.

Given everything we've seen about this fund, I think it could make a find choice for investors seeking exposure to the crazy world of biotech but don't want to go about picking stocks for themselves. Just be sure you fully understand what you're buying.

[treehouse1]

$77.50 closing price after the 3-1 split. Nice green day.

[treehouse1]

3-1 split today before the market open!!

[treehouse1]

$228.67 closed at the high of the day. It was up about the twice the market %.

[treehouse1]

$222.97 closed at here. Was up at $232.00 earlier today - late market sell off. This stock is a firecracker and will be much higher.

[treehouse1]

$228.66 great day today - up 4.5%. Looking for $270.00.

[treehouse1]

$219.10 up today in a down market. I like my position. Should be considered for your portfolio.

[treehouse1]

Great day today - up almost 5% to $224.87.

[treehouse1]

$220.78 RT swinging upward bucking the rest of the market!!!

[treehouse1]

$216.79 buying a little more at this level.

[TREND1]

XBI D 11 MONTHS

[treehouse1]

$228.97 continue to add a little more.

[TREND1]

XBI D 11 months

[TREND1]

XBI is good to WATCH FOR BIO TREND. IMHO.
Also IBB BIO INDEX to confirm trend. IMHO.

[TREND1]

BIOTECH ETFS TEST KEY SUPPORT LEVELS... The Biotech SPDR (XBI) and Biotech iShares (IBB) fell sharply over the last few weeks and these two are testing important support zones. Chart 5 shows XBI peaking around 270 in mid July and falling over 10% the last few weeks. Broken resistance, the June lows and the December trend line combine to mark uptrend support in the 230-240 area. A close below 230 would break support and argue for a trend reversal. The indicator window shows the three PPOs representing three timeframes. PPO(20,120,1) represents the long-term (red), PPO(10,60,1) represents the medium-term (green) and PPO(5,35,1) represents the short-term (gray). Only one is bearish right now, but the medium-term PPO (10,60,1) is close to turning negative.

by art hill

[TREND1]

ART HILL says XBI contains smaller stocks with higher risk

[TREND1]

XBI 30 D W M PF

[treehouse1]

Bought additional shares today $237.21 - thanks for the extra shares. This is the ETF to own for life.

[treehouse1]

Bought more today - great addition to any portfolio!!

[treehouse1]

Great stock to own, buy and tuck it away. $$$$

[TREND1]

XBI D

[SilverSurfer]

Cramer like PFE but prefers ZTS...Likes CLH

Pfizer (PFE) is doing so many things right, but Cramer prefers its spin-off, Zoetis (ZTS) on the increasing popularity of animal health.

The housing recovery, the oil drilling boom, the pent-up demand for autos, the success of biotechs make the following stocks attractive: EOG Resources (EOG), Ford (F), AutoZone (AZO), General Electric (GE), Boeing (BA), Biogen (BIIB), Celgene (CELG), Gilead (GILD) and Regeneron (REGN).

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1455951-cramer-s-mad-money-the-miraculous-six-flags-5-22-13

[SilverSurfer]

If stocks really are going To Da MOON ! then XBI will be one of them.... if not,,,, never mind