Healthcare became one of the most important areas in daily life and equity markets in 2020. We previously covered several exchange-traded funds in the industry, such as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR® Fund (NYSE:XLV) and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB).
Today we extend the discussion to ETFs that focus on genomics, "the study of all of a person's genes (the genome), including interactions of those genes with each other and with the person's environment."
Genomic medicine concentrates on using this biological information to make a diagnosis and improve an individual's health. The US National Human Genome Research Institute highlights:
"genomic medicine is making an impact in the fields of oncology, pharmacology, rare and undiagnosed diseases, and infectious disease."
Scientists across the globe have participated in the Human Genome Project (HGP), "the international research effort to determine the DNA sequence of the entire human genome.” The project began on Oct. 1, 1990 and was completed in 2003.
The importance of genomics hit global headlines in recent months, when the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK) announced the discovery of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2. Since then, other variants of the virus have been identified in different parts of the globe, thanks to genomic sequencing.
With that information, here is a fund that may pique investors' interest.
ARK Genomic Revolution ETF
- Current Price: $104.73
- 52-Week Range: $24.00 - $114.83
- Dividend Yield: N/A
- Expense Ratio: 0.75%
The ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (NYSE:ARKG) provides access to businesses that are part of the scientific developments and advancements in genomics. They might focus on:
Agricultural Biology, which “looks at complex biological systems of plants, animals, and soil in the agricultural sector,”
Bioinformatics, which “combines mathematics, information science, and biology and helps answer biological questions,”
CRISPR, “a technology that can be used to edit genes,”
Stem cells, which “are basic cells that can become almost any type of cell in the body,”
Molecular diagnostics, “the application of molecular biology techniques to study human diseases,” and
Targeted therapy, which “uses drugs to find and attack cancer cells.”
ARKG, an actively-managed fund, currently has 54 holdings. Since its inception in October 2014, funds under management have grown to $7.67 billion.
Over 45% of the fund's weighing is represented by its top ten stocks. Close to 83% of the companies come from North America, followed by Europe (13.7%), Asia-Pacific (2.1%), and Africa/Middle East (1.5%).
Telehealth provider Teladoc Health (NYSE:TDOC), Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST), which has “a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA,” Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) which produces DNA sequencing technology, molecular diagnostics company Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) and biotechnology group Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) lead the names in the roster.
Over the past year, ARKG has returned over 216% and hit a record-high in late January. In fact, year-to-date (YTD), it is already up over 10%. Given the recent run-up in price, there is likely to be some profit-taking in the fund in the coming weeks.
Yet we can expect many of the names in the fund to continue to grow, possibly in double digits. A potential decline of 5%-7% from the current price level would improve the margin of safety for buy-and-hold investors.
Bottom Line
Genomics will likely continue to impact our lives in the new decade. Thus, we can expect Wall Street to continue focus on this important field and offer new funds. In addition to ARKG, there are other ETFs that could be of interest to readers. They include:
- Franklin Genomic Advancements ETF (NYSE:HELX) - up 9.36% YTD;
- Global X Genomics & Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:GNOM) - up 5.97% YTD;
- iShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF (NYSE:IDNA) - up 11.14% YTD.
We plan to cover these funds in the coming weeks.