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Biotech ETFs Slide As Stocks Report Mixed Q4 Results

Since the beginning of the year, the biotech sector has been experiencing some weakness due to industry specific headwinds like pricing concerns and global factors like weak emerging market currencies and a strong U.S. dollar. To deepen its woes, the sector has failed to gain investor confidence so far in the fourth quarter earnings season. Although several well-known biotech industry players like Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN ), Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB ) and Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD ) easily managed to beat estimates on both earnings and revenues, other companies including Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN ) and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG ) reported disappointing or mixed results. Quite expectedly, investors will keep an eye on biotech earnings for the rest of this season to assess whether the sector can pull off another turnaround supported by strong pipelines, innovative treatments, growing demand for drugs, especially for rare-to-treat diseases, an aging population and increased health care spending (read: What Lies Ahead for Biotech ETFs in 2016? ). Biotech Earnings in Detail Gilead reported impressive fourth-quarter results as both earnings and revenues outdid the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. The biotech giant’s fourth-quarter earnings (including stock-based compensation expenses) of $3.27 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.91. Reported earnings were significantly higher than the year-ago figure of $2.38 per share. Quarterly revenues surged 16.3% to $8.5 billion driven by strong product sales. The revenue figure breezed past the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.1 billion. Meanwhile, the company provided 2016 product sales guidance. The company expects product sales in the range of $30-$31 billion. The stock has added 2.9% since reporting earnings (as of February 5, 2016). Another biotech behemoth, Amgen also beat both earnings and revenue estimates in the fourth quarter. The company’s fourth-quarter 2015 earnings of $2.61 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.27 and improved from the year-ago earnings of $2.16. Also, total revenues grew 4% to $5.536 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.532 billion. Foreign exchange translation negatively impacted fourth quarter sales by two percentage points. Based on an improved revenue outlook, the company upgraded its outlook for 2016 earnings to $10.60-$11.00 per share from $10.35-$10.75 per share. The company also pushed up its revenue guidance to $22.0-$22.5 billion from $21.7-$22.3 billion. The stock has lost 2.2% since releasing earnings (as of February 5, 2016). Biogen also beat on earnings and revenues. The company’s earnings per share of $4.50 were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.07. Earnings grew about 10% year over year while revenues increased 7.5%. Revenues came in at $2.8 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.7 billion. This biotech firm also provided revenue and earnings guidance for 2016. The company expects to earn $18.30-$18.60 per share on revenues of $11.1-$11.3 billion. The stock gained 1.5% since it reported earnings (as of February 5, 2016). On the other hand, Celgene reported mixed results with earnings of $1.00 per share (including stock-based compensation expenses) falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 and revenues of $2.6 billion beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate slightly. However, both earnings and revenues rose year on year in the reported quarter. Net sales of the drug Revlimid, the backbone of Celgene, saw a year-over-year rise of 18%. The company has kept its 2016 outlook intact. The stock is down 4.3% (as of February 5, 2016). Alexion also came up with disappointing fourth-quarter results with both earnings and revenues missing estimates. Fourth-quarter 2015 earnings (including stock-based compensation expense) of 84 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents. Earnings were also below the year-ago figure of $1.14 per share. Nevertheless, Alexion’s revenues climbed 16.9% year over year in the fourth quarter to $700.1 million. Revenues, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $706 million. Alexion has provided its outlook for 2016. The company expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $5.00 to $5.20 on revenues of $3.05-$3.1 billion. Foreign exchange translations are expected to negatively impact revenues by $120 million and earnings by 31 cents. Shares gained 3.6% post earnings (as of February 5, 2016). ETFs in Focus Thanks to mixed results, biotech ETFs with considerable exposure to the five stocks above were all in the red in the last 10 trading sessions (as of February 5, 2016). This has put the spotlight on biotech ETFs. Below we discuss four of these ETFs having a sizeable exposure to the above stocks (see all Healthcare ETFs here ). iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB ) This top player in the biotech ETF space tracks the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, holding 190 securities in the basket. Celgene, Amgen, Gilead Sciences, Biogen and Alexion are placed among the top 10 holdings with a combined exposure of about 41% in the fund. The fund has an asset base of more than $7.5 billion and trades in an average volume of nearly 2.7 million shares a day. It has an expense ratio of 0.48% and lost 11% in the above mentioned timeframe. IBB currently has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a High risk outlook. Market Vectors Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA: BBH ) This fund follows the Market Vectors US Listed Biotech 25 Index and holds 25 securities in its basket. Gilead Sciences (13.2%), Amgen (12.9%), Celgene (10.3%) and Biogen (6.5%) take the top four spots in the fund while Alexion (4.8%) takes the sixth place. The fund has amassed nearly $529.8 million in its asset base and trades in moderate volumes of roughly 151,000 shares a day. The product charges an annual fee of 35 bps per year and lost 10.6% in the said timeframe. It currently carries a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a High risk outlook. PowerShares Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBE ) The fund tracks the Dynamic Biotech & Genome Intellidex Index. The top 4 holdings include Amgen (6.42%), Biogen (6.4%), Alexion (5.49%) and Gilead (5.28%). Total assets of the fund are $275.5 million representing 30 holdings. The fund’s expense ratio is 0.57%. The trading volume is roughly 83,000 shares per day. The fund has lost 10.6% in the past 10 trading sessions. It currently carries a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a High risk outlook. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index ETF (NYSEARCA: FBT ) FBT tracks the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index and holds 30 securities in the basket. The fund is well diversified with no stock holding more than 4.1% weight. Biogen, Amgen, Celgene and Gilead are placed among the top 10 holdings with a combined exposure of about 14.8% in the fund. Total assets of the fund are $1.8 billion. The fund’s expense ratio is 0.58. The trading volume is roughly 475,000 shares per day. It currently carries a Zacks ETF Rank #4 (Sell) with a High risk outlook. The fund has lost 14.4% in the last 10 trading sessions. Link to the original post on Zacks.com

Earnings Recession Put These ETFs In Focus

The word ‘recession’ has lately been uttered quite frequently. Sometimes it is used in the perspective of the overall economy and at other times it is associated with corporate earnings. While the fear of former seems exaggerated – especially for the U.S. economy – it actually holds true for the latter. The fourth-quarter results from 62% of the S&P 500 components that are out, give cues of weakness on all sides. The growth picture has been utterly sluggish reflecting prolonged global growth worries, a stronger greenback and a persistent decline in oil prices. As of now, the corporate projections and macroeconomic instability suggest that the earnings weakness is here to stay. The earnings of the S&P 500 index is likely to decline 4.6% in the first quarter of 2016 while revenues are expected to fall 1.7% as per the Zacks Earnings Trends issued on February 3, 2016. The earnings and revenue expectations are projected to fall 1.9% and 2.1% respectively in the second quarter of 2016. However, things will enter in the positive territory from the third quarter. Coming to small-cap earnings, 25.5% of the Russell 2000 index components have come up with their quarterly results. Total earnings for these companies are up 0.2% on 2.1% higher revenues, with 43.7% beating EPS estimates and 34.2% surpassing revenue expectations. While the smaller part of the capitalization was able to post earnings and revenue growth unlike their larger cousins (as small cap companies are less exposed to foreign lands and thus less hurt by the dollar strength), the figures were not outright bullish. Plus, the major chunk of the segment is yet to report. In such an offhand earnings scenario, investors would like to bet on stocks and ETFs that have relatively a higher power of generating earnings. To do so, investors can definitely take a look at the below-mentioned WishdomTree earnings ETFs across capitalization that provide exposure to companies with positive cumulative earnings over their most recent four fiscal quarters. WisdomTree Earnings 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: EPS ) This fund provides exposure to earnings-generating companies within the large-cap segment of the broad U.S. stock market by tracking the WisdomTree Earnings 500 Index. The $119.6-million ETF invests in about 495 securities. While Financials takes the top spot with about 21.5% weight, IT (19%), consumer discretionary (11.9%), health care (11.0%), industrials (10.9%) and consumer staples (10.8%) also take double-digit exposure. EPS is off 8.6% so far this year, but has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (read: 6 Incredible ETFs & Stocks on Sale ). WisdomTree MidCap Earnings ETF (NYSEARCA: EZM ) This fund targets the earnings-generating mid cap companies by tracking the WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Index. This $607.8-million fund is also heavy on the financial sector (22.8%), while consumer discretionary (19.1%), industrial (18.9%) and IT (12.1%) round out the top four positions. The fund charges 38 bps in fees. Holding 600 stocks in its portfolio, the fund does not put more than 2.2% in any security. EZM is off 8.1% so far this year (as of February 5, 2016). The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook. WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings ETF (NYSEARCA: EES ) This is for the earnings-generating small-cap companies. Holdings 891 stocks in its basket, the ETF provides a nice balance across various securities as each firm holds less than 1.75% share in the basket. However, the fund is tilted toward the financial sector with one-fourth portfolio, followed by industrials (21.07 %), consumer discretionary (17.4%) and information technology (10.9%). The product has amassed $323.2 million in its asset base. It charges 38 bps in annual fees. EES has lost 11.5% since the start of the year (as of February 5, 2016). It has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Medium risk outlook. Bottom Line As one can see from the performance trend, the afore-mentioned ETFs failed to live up to their unique investment objective in recent trading due to the broader market sell-off. However, investors may consider these funds once the stormy market clams down. Link to the original post on Zacks.com

Global X Adds Emerging Markets To Scientific Beta Suite

Global X Funds is planning to add to its suite of Scientific Beta ETFs with a new fund focusing on emerging markets. According to a January 20 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Global X Scientific Beta Emerging Markets ETF should begin trading sometime in early April 2016, if not before. Suite of Scientific Beta ETFs Like its other Scientific Beta ETFs, Global X’s Emerging Markets ETF will track a custom index: the Scientific Beta Emerging Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy Equal Risk Contribution Index. The index’s objective is to outperform traditional market capitalization-weighted indexes, with a “limited amount of relative risk.” The index’s components are large- and mid-cap stocks that are highly liquid and trade in and are incorporated or domiciled in an emerging-market country. Index components are selected by applying four factors that have been widely recognized by academic literature to outperform over the long run: Value, Size, Low-Volatility and Momentum. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in securities from the index, along with American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”). Global X’s other Scientific Beta ETFs launched on May 12, 2015. They include: Global X Scientific Beta US ETF (NYSEARCA: SCIU ) Global X Scientific Beta Europe ETF (NYSEARCA: SCID ) Global X Scientific Beta Japan ETF (NYSEARCA: SCIJ ) Global X Scientific Beta Asia ex-Japan ETF (NYSEARCA: SCIX ) Above Average Performance For the six months ending January 31, 2016, all four ETFs posted losses – but all four ranked in the top half of their Morningstar categories, too. SCIU and SCID posted respective six-month losses of 7.87% and 9.42%, but ranked in the top 41% and 31%, respectively, of their peers. SCIJ posted the lightest losses at 2.61% and ranked in the top 17%. And SCIX, though it nearly posted the steepest six-month losses at -9.41%, ranked in the top 1% of its Morningstar category for the period under review. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results. Jason Seagraves contributed to this article.