Russell Investments has posted its official list of companies set to join or leave the U.S. broad-market Russell 3000 Index and Russell Microcap Index when its U.S. equity indexes are fully reconstituted on June 22.
On the preliminary list, we would like to focus specifically on the U.S. Healthcare additions to the Russell 3000 in alphabetical order below. This is because many of these companies have a new drug, service, specific niche, or are on the ground floor of some biotechnology cancer treatment(s) or drug(s) that have real strong potential in the U.S. and possibly the EU. Each stock mentioned is a company that is currently relevant to the healthcare industry today and has one or several key developments in its pipeline over the last 3-6 months. Some of these companies have experienced large gains and have caught the eyes of the Russell index managers as future growth leaders and you should also be aware of them too.
Let's pick a few stocks that may see continued upside as funds acquire the float in these new additions to the Russell.
Here are a few company examples:
Anika Therapeutics (ANIK) develops, manufactures and commercializes therapeutic products for tissue protection, healing, and repair. These products are based on hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring, biocompatible polymer found throughout the body. The company offers aesthetic dermal fillers for the correction of facial wrinkles, advanced wound treatments, and regenerative tissue technology. The dermatological products are a small part of ANIK's revenue, as it mostly comes from treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee and other surgical aids. The company has great revenue and profitability projections and a pipeline of products that can produce real value down the road and is worth a look.
IMMUNOCELLULAR THERAPEUTICS (IMUC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company, which focuses on developing new immune-based products to treat and diagnose cancer. Its cell-based vaccine technologies are primary platform technologies and commercial prospects will be heavily dependent on the outcome of the contemplated clinical trials for current lead vaccine product candidate. Its product pipeline includes peptide-based vaccines to target cancer stem cells, cellular immunotherapies to target cancer associated antigens, and monoclonal antibodies to diagnose and treat several different cancers. ImmunoCellular product candidates include ICT-107, CT-121, ICT-109, ICT-037, ICT-69 and CT-Diagnostic-SCLC. The company focuses on immunotherapy technologies to treat glioblastoma, and these applicable therapies to multiple other cancers such as pancreatic, colon and breast cancers. Its antibodies are designed to treat small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, multiple myeloma and ovarian cancer.
Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders and diseases. While its not a glamerous business, its product candidate is Plecanatide, a Guanylyl Cyclase C, receptor agonist to treat gastrointestinal disorders, primarily chronic constipation and constipation-predominant-irritable bowel syndrome.
| COMPANY | SYMBOL | COUNTRY | INDUSTRY |
| ACADIA HEALTHCARE | (ACHC) | United States | Health Care |
| AGENUS INC | (AGEN) | United States | Health Care |
| ANIKA THERAPEUTICS INC | United States | Health Care | |
| BIODELIVERY SCIENCES | (BDSI) | United States | Health Care |
| CORONADO BIOSCIENCES | (CNDO) | United States | Health Care |
| CUMBERLAND PHARMACEUTICALS | (CPIX) | United States | Health Care |
| DERMA SCIENCES | (DSCI) | United States | Health Care |
| DISCOVERY LABORATORIES | (DCSO) | United States | Health Care |
| ENTEROMEDICS INC | (ETRM) | United States | Health Care |
| IMMUNOCELLULAR THERAPEUTICS | United States | Health Care | |
| INTEGRAMED AMERICA INC | (INMD) | United States | Health Care |
| MEDIWARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS | (MEDW) | United States | Health Care |
| MERRIMACK PHARMACEUTICALS | (MACK) | United States | Health Care |
| OMEROS CORP | (OMER) | United States | Health Care |
| REPLIGEN CORP | (RGEN) | United States | Health Care |
| REPROS THERAPEUTICS | (RPRX) | United States | Health Care |
| ROCHESTER MEDICAL CORP | (ROCM) | United States | Health Care |
| SUPERNUS PHARMACEUTICALS | (SUPN) | United States | Health Care |
| SYNAGEVA BIOPHARMA | (GEVA) | United States | Health Care |
| SYNERGY PHARMACEUTICALS | United States | Health Care | |
| THRESHOLD PHARMACEUTICALS | (THLD) | United States | Health Care |
| UTAH MEDICAL PRODUCTS INC | (UTMD) | United States | Health Care |
| VENTRUS BIOSCIENCES INC | (VTUS) | United States | Health Care |
| XOMA CORP | (XOMA) | United States | Health Care |
Disclosure: I am long THLD.
Additional disclosure: Editor may initiate a few other stocks listed here within 72 hours.
