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An exchange-traded fund that tracks 162 biotechnology companies is cruising to its highest level in 18 months.
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index ETF, the IBB, is on pace for its fourth-straight day of gains, trading at $324.65 per share Friday afternoon. On Jan. 6, 2016, it traded at $325.30.
It is up 2.5 percent this week, and a positive close would mean a a third-consecutive weekly gain for the first time since mid-February. This would also be the best week for the ETF since the week of June 23, when it gained 9.57 percent.
Eight members of the ETF have double digit gains this week, including Vertex, up nearly 32 percent in its highest performing week since June 2014, when the biopharma company gained 44.35 percent in a week.