RCKT Completes Enrollment in Rare Heart Disease Study, Stock Rises

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market, look no further than the Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF (PBE), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/23/2005.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Biotech is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $271.87 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market. PBE seeks to match the performance of the Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome Intellidex Index before fees and expenses.

The Dynamic Biotech & Genome Intellidex Index seeks to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.58%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.05%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector--about 99.90% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD) accounts for about 5.58% of total assets, followed by Illumina Inc (ILMN) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN).

The top 10 holdings account for about 48.18% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, PBE return is roughly 8.14%, and was up about 20.51% in the last one year (as of 09/18/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $52.52 and $71.87.

The ETF has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 23.55% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 32 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, PBE is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) tracks S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has $7.70 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.73 billion. XBI has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IBB charges 0.45%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

Zacks Investment Research

Shares of Ascendis Pharma ASND rose 17% on Monday after it reported top-line results from the pivotal ApproaCH study that evaluated investigational once-weekly administered TransCon CNP in children aged two to 11 years with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.

ASND Drug Shows AGV Benefit in Achondroplasia Patients

The ApproaCH study met its primary endpoint of annualized growth velocity (AGV) at 52 weeks — children treated with TransCon CNP achieved a mean AGV of 5.89 cm/year compared with 4.41 cm/year in the placebo group.

Management also provided sub-group analyses of this data by age groups — children aged two to less than five years and another group aged five to 11 years. Patients in the first group who received TransCon CNP achieved a mean AGV of 6.07 cm/year compared with 5.06 cm/year in placebo. Those who received the drug in the second age group achieved a mean AGV of 5.79 cm/year compared with 4.02 cm/year on placebo.

Per Ascendis, treatment with the drug also demonstrated statistically significant improvement in other secondary endpoints, including height Z-score and changing from baseline AGV.

But Why Did BioMarin Stock Dip on TransCon CNP Data

There is only one drug approved to treat achondroplasia in the United States and Europe — Voxzogo — which is marketed by BioMarin BMRN. Since its launch in 2021, BMRN has been experiencing a rapid uptake for Voxzogo driven by strong prescription demand. The drug added nearly $337 million to BioMarin’s topline in the first half of 2024, up 67% year over year.

While it is difficult to compare the results of two different clinical studies directly, investors were likely impressed with the once-weekly dosing advantage of TransCon CNP over Voxzogo, which requires daily dosing. This major factor was not only responsible for Ascendis’ share price soaring but also sent BioMarin stock down nearly 18% after the results were announced.

Ascendis’ shares have moved up 10.8% in the year compared with the industry’s 1.0% growth.