XBI Ignored The Market's Downturn

Your biotech fund just posted a big gain, but the reason why is more about the whole sector than any single star.

Twist Bioscience (TWST), at just 2.0% of the fund, rose 55.6% last month, helping to lead a rally that saw the State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) climb +15.6%. That move is notable because it happened while the broader S&P 500 (SPY) actually fell -2.9% over the same period.

When an exchange-traded fund moves that differently from the market, you want to know if you're riding a broad wave or just the fortunes of one or two companies. Looking under the hood of XBI gives us the answer.

While Twist Bioscience was the single biggest driver, it had plenty of company. Another holding, uniQure (QURE), made up just 1.1% of the fund but rose 88.8%, adding about 0.9% to the fund's total move. Close behind was Apogee Therapeutics (APGE), which, at 1.3% of the fund, rose 70.5% and also added about 0.9% to the fund's return.

Together, these three stocks were responsible for about 23% of the fund's entire gain. That's a meaningful contribution, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

The real story here is breadth. Among the fund's 50 largest holdings, an overwhelming 44 rose w

Fuente original: Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/xbi-ignored-markets-downturn-235307139.html)