Varian Releases Software, Gains 5 Days in a Row
XLV Gains May 10, Trades above Its 20-Day Moving Average
XLV mid-caps
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) mid-caps gained 1%. They outperformed XLV but underperformed the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY). SPY rose by 1.2% on May 10, 2016. XLV only has six mid-caps in its portfolio. Among them, five stocks advanced and only one stock declined from its previous closing. XLV mid-caps have a limited impact on XLV. They only have a weight of ~1.4% in XLV’s portfolio.
The above graph shows the daily changes in XLV mid-caps compared to XLV and SPY. Since the beginning of May until May 10, 2016, XLV mid-caps fell by 5.6%. They felt the impact of Endo International’s (ENDP) downfall on May 6, 2016. XLV and SPY rose by 1%.
Varian gains for five days in a row
On May 10, 2016, Varian Medical Systems (VAR) rose by 0.2%. Varian has been on an upward trend in the past five trading sessions. On May 9, Varian announced the release of software for simplifying the X-Ray system design. According to the press release, Varian announced that “the release of new computer-aided engineering (CAE) software for simplifying the process of designing shielding and radiological protection systems. Varian’s new Attila4MC software provides engineers, using Monte Carlo N-Particle Code (MCNP®) in their product designs, with an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies and accelerates the calculation process. Varian further expects Attila4MC to be particularly useful for research involving medical physics and nuclear engineering.”
Varian closed at $82.26. It was trading below the 20-day moving average price. On a YTD (year-to-date) basis, the stock rose by 1.8%. Perkinelmer (PKI) is the only other mid-cap stock within XLV that has a positive YTD return. It had a return of 2.5%. As of May 10, 2016, Varian is trading at a 2016 forward price-to-earnings multiple of ~18.0x. It has a book value of $17.23 per share. At its current price, the stock is trading at a price-to-book value of ~4.8x. Varian has a weight of 0.3% in XLV’s portfolio.
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