Global Pharma Giant's Breakthrough Drug Approved, U.S. Biotech Stocks Rally, Nasdaq Biotech ETF (513290) Jumps Over 1% on Heavy Volume

On March 27 local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed collectively higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.22%, the S&P 500 Index up 0.86%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index up 0.51%. Among them, the S&P 500 Index hit another record closing high, while the Nasdaq and Dow approached their historical closing highs. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index closed up 1.53%, with ROIVANT SCIENCES surging 7.54%, MODERNA closing up 2.96%, AstraZeneca closing up 2.91%, Biogen closing up 2.04%, Amgen closing up 1.61%, Gilead Sciences closing up 0.83%, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals closing up 0.29%, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals closing down 0.27%. As of 10:40 on March 28, 2024, the Nasdaq Biotech ETF (513290) opened with a gap, rising over 1%, aiming for a third consecutive gain. Its latest price was reported at 1.17 yuan, with an intraday trading volume reaching 18.9116 million yuan, and a turnover rate of 1.36%.

Looking at a longer time frame, as of March 27, 2024, the Nasdaq Biotech ETF has cumulatively increased by 1.49% over the past week. In terms of capital inflow, the Nasdaq Biotech ETF has attracted a total of 19.788 million yuan within the last 21 trading days.

U.S. Eastern Time on March 26, U.S. pharmaceutical giant MSD announced that its new drug for treating a fatal lung disease has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The trade name of the drug is Winrevair, used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Affected by this news, after the overnight opening of the U.S. stock market, MSD's share price once surged over 6%. At the close, the share price was at $131.75, with an increase of 4.96%, setting a new historical high. The company’s total market value increased by $15.78 billion (approximately RMB 113.5 billion) in a single day, reaching a total market value of $333.7 billion (approximately RMB 2.4 trillion), expanding its cumulative increase year-to-date to 21.6%. Analysts at J.P. Morgan stated: "We expect Winrevair sales to perform strongly and quickly become part of the standard care for eligible patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension." It is expected that by 2030, the annual sales of Winrevair will reach $5 billion (approximately RMB 36 billion).

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Notably, the daily subscription limit for the Nasdaq Biotech ETF (513290) on the primary market has been tightened to 30 million shares.

[Nasdaq Biotech ETF - The Largest U.S. Equity Innovation Drug Category by Scale]

看好美股生物科技和创新药板块，更多投资者选择全市场规模最大的纳指生物科技ETF（513290），其标的指数纳斯达克生物科技指数（NBI）之所以成为美国主流的创新药板块代表性风向指标，主要有以下三大比较优势：

1. Global Selection. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) not only includes innovative biotech pharmaceutical companies from the United States but also essentially monopolizes the leading biotech firms globally. In contrast, the S&P Biotechnology Index selection scope is limited to publicly listed companies registered in the U.S., making the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index coverage broader.

2. "Large and Small" Considered. The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index adopts a market capitalization weighting method, with the top ten weighted stocks accounting for a combined 56.76%. These are all well-known industry "leaders," enjoying the "the strong get stronger" advantage of large-cap biotech giants. At the same time, the index consists of as many as 225 component stocks, thus also taking into account the flexibility of small and medium-cap "dark horses." (Source: NASDAQ, as of December 29, 2023)

3. Better risk-return characteristics. The Sharpe ratio of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index is as high as 0.14, which is 1.3 times that of the S&P Biotech Index, meaning that under the same unit of risk, the return characteristics of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index are significantly better.

EarlETF also compared the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the S&P Biotechnology Index from the perspective of the "five-year anchor." Relatively speaking, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index shows a more orderly trend, with a higher slope in its upward curvature over the medium to long term.

Public information shows that the Nasdaq Biotech ETF (513290) is the only ETF in China that focuses on global innovative drug leaders, and also serves as a barometer for the innovative drug market. The Nasdaq Biotech ETF (513290) tracks and replicates the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI), making it an efficient tool for investing in cutting-edge global innovative drugs.

Investors who are accustomed to off-exchange subscriptions and redemptions or do not have a securities account can consider the NASDAQ Biotech ETF Linked Fund (A: 017894; C: 017895). Additionally, for those with large capital volumes and subscription/redemption needs in the primary market, the minimum subscription and redemption unit for the NASDAQ Biotech ETF (513290) in the primary market has been reduced from 1 million shares to 500,000 shares, significantly lowering the threshold.

NASDAQ Biotech ETF (513290), Off-exchange Link (Class A: 017894; Class C: 017895; ChinaAMC NASDAQ Biotech ETF Initiating Connection (QDII) USD Cash: 017951; ChinaAMC NASDAQ Biotech ETF Initiating Connection (QDII) USD Cash: 017952).