New York, December 9, 2005 � The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.
(NASDAQ
�; NASDAQ: NDAQ) announced today the annual re-ranking of the
NASDAQ-100 Index
�, effective with the market
open on Monday, December 19, 2005.
�The re-ranking is a unique event in that investors ultimately determine
which companies are members of one of the most closely followed indexes in the
world,� said John L. Jacobs, executive vice president, NASDAQ. �The re-ranking
process is objective, rules-based and transparent - one that ensures the
NASDAQ-100 Index will continue to be an important benchmark by which you can
invest in a diverse array of NASDAQ-listed companies.�
The following 12 issues will be added to the NASDAQ-100 Index: Google Inc.
(NASDAQ: GOOG), NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD), Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE),
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA),
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN), Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:
CDNS), Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), RedHat, Inc. (NASDAQ: RHAT), Monster
Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST), CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ: CKFR), and
Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ: DISCA).
The NASDAQ-100 Index is composed of the 100 largest non-financial stocks on
The NASDAQ Stock Market� and dates to January 1985 when it was
launched along with the NASDAQ Financial-100 Index�, which is
comprised of the 100 largest financial stocks on NASDAQ. These indexes were
originally designed to segment NASDAQ into two major industry groups to support
media coverage and to act as benchmarks for financial products such as options,
futures, and funds. The NASDAQ-100 is re-ranked each year in December, timed to
coincide with the quadruple witch expiration Friday of the quarter.
On a cumulative price return basis, the NASDAQ-100 Index has risen over
1238.0% since inception, and it has outperformed several major domestic and
international stock indexes for the ten-year period ended November 30, 2005,
although past performance is not indicative of future performance. For the most
recent one, five, and ten-year periods ended November 30, 2005, the cumulative
return of he NASDAQ-100 Index was 6.4%, -33.3%, and 181.7% respectively.
Shares of each company in the Index are included in the NASDAQ-100 Index
Tracking Stock� (QQQ� ) (NASDAQ: QQQQ), which is an
exchange-traded fund (ETF) that trades like a stock. It is the most actively
traded listed equity security in the U.S., and it is one of the world's most
actively traded ETFs as measured by the average daily share trading volume. QQQ
represents ownership in the NASDAQ-100 TrustSM. The Trust holds a
portfolio of equity securities that comprise the NASDAQ-100 Index and aims to
provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond with the NASDAQ-100
Index performance. Since its inception in March 1999, the Trust's total assets
have grown to over $20 billion.
The NASDAQ-100 European Tracker Fund� (EQQQSM ) is
listed on Borsa Italiana, SWX Swiss Exchange, Deutsche Boerse, virt-x, and
London Stock Exchange and is designed to closely follow the NASDAQ-100 Index.
EQQQ provides European investors with low cost access to the entire range of
companies in the NASDAQ-100 Index in European hours, on European markets. Since
its inception in November 2002, the Fund's total assets have grown to
approximately $315 million. EQQQ is not available to U.S. investors.
There are also 22 domestic mutual funds and 9 international funds linked to
the NASDAQ-100 Index. For more information about the NASDAQ-100 Index, including
eligibility criteria, visit www.nasdaq-100.com.
As a result of the re-ranking of the NASDAQ-100 Index, the following 12
companies will be removed: Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) Dollar
Tree Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL),
Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ: IVGN), Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:
LVLT), Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNM), Molex Incorporated
(NASDAQ: MOLX), Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS), QLogic Corporation
(NASDAQ: QLGC), Sanmina-SCI Corporation (NASDAQ: SANM), Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:
SNPS), and Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (NASDAQ: SSCC).
NASDAQ� is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities
market in the United States. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more
companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S.
market. It is home to category-defining companies that are leaders across all
areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial
services, transportation, media and biotechnology. For more information about
NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/.
To learn more about the criteria for inclusion to the NASDAQ-100, visit NASDAQ-100 Index
.
Notes to editors:
The Trustee for the NASDAQ-100 Trust is required
to adjust the composition of the Trust within three business days before or
after the day on which a change to the composition of the NASDAQ-100 Index
becomes effective at the close of the market.
The NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock is subject to risks similar to those of
stocks, including those regarding short selling and margin account maintenance.
An investor cannot invest directly in the Index. Index performance does not
reflect the fees and expenses associated with investing in the NASDAQ-100 Index
Tracking Stock.
An investor should carefully consider investment objectives, risks charges
and expenses before investing. For this and more complete information about
NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock�, a unit investment
trust, obtain a prospectus from your broker, or call (888) 627-3837 or visit our
Web site at www.nasdaq-100.com . Read it
carefully before you invest.
While there is no assurance that the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index can
be fully matched, the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock is designed to provide
investment results that generally correspond to the performance of the
NASDAQ-100 Index before fees, expenses, and taxes. Past performance is not
indicative of future performance.
ALPS Distributors, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, is distributor for
the Trust.
The sponsor of the NASDAQ-100 Trust, a unit investment trust,
is NASDAQ Global Funds, Inc. (�NGF�), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Nasdaq
Stock Market, Inc. (�NASDAQ,� and collectively with its affiliates except NGF,
the �Corporations�). Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate so
that an investor's shares, when redeemed or sold, may be worth more or less than
the original cost.
�NASDAQ� and related marks are trademarks or service marks of NASDAQ and have
been licensed for use for certain purposes by NGF. The NASDAQ-100 Index is
comprised and calculated by NASDAQ without regard to the NASDAQ-100 Index
Tracking Stock. The Corporations make no warranty, express or implied, and bear
no liability with respect to NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock. The Corporations
and NGF make no warranty, express or implied, and bear no liability with respect
to the NASDAQ-100 Index, its use or any data included therein. The Corporations
do not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the Index, or any data used
to calculate the Index, or determine the Index components.
ALPS
Distributors, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, is distributor for QQQ.
Company briefs:
The following are brief descriptions of the 12
companies to be added to the NASDAQ-100 Index in descending order based on
market capitalization as calculated in the NASDAQ-100 Index annual re-ranking
review. Securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market that meet the eligibility
criteria were ranked by market capitalization using NOCP as of the end of
October and total shares outstanding filed in a public SEC document through the
end of November.
Google Inc. provides a web based search engine through its Google.com
website. The Company offers a wide range of search options, including web,
image, groups, directory, and news searches. The Mountain View, California,
company had a market capitalization of $74.2 billion at the time of ranking.
NII Holdings, Inc. NII Holdings, Inc. provides mobile communications
for business customers in Latin America. The Company has operations in Mexico,
Brazil, Argentina and Peru, offering a fully integrated wireless communications
tool with digital cellular service, text/numeric paging, wireless Internet
access, Nextel DirectConnect, a digital two-way radio feature, and International
Direct Connect(SM). The Reston, Virginia, company had a market
capitalization of $6.3 billion at the time of ranking.
Expedia, Inc. provides branded online travel services for leisure and
small business travelers. The Company offers one-stop travel shopping and
reservation services, providing real-time access to schedule, pricing and
availability information for airlines, hotels, and car rental companies. The
Bellevue, Washington, company had a market capitalization of $6.0 billion at the
time of ranking.
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. provides land-based drilling services to
major and independent oil and natural gas companies. The Company conducts
drilling operations in Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and western
Canada. Patterson-UTI is also involved in pressure pumping, oil and gas
exploration and production, and drilling and completion fluids services. The
Snyder, Texas, company had a market capitalization of $5.9 billion at the time
of ranking.
NVIDIA Corporation designs, develops, and markets three dimensional
(3D) graphics processors and related software. The Company's products provide
interactive 3D graphics to the mainstream personal computer market. The Santa
Clara, California, company had a market capitalization of $5.7 billion at the
time of ranking.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. operates retail stores and direct response,
including a catalog and Web sites. The Company's Urban Outfitters and
Anthropologie retail concepts sell fashion apparel, accessories, and household
and gift merchandise. Urban also designs and markets young women's casual wear
which it provides to the Company's retail operations and sells to retailers
worldwide. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, company had a market capitalization
of $4.7 billion at the time of ranking.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. provides software technology and
comprehensive design and consulting services and technology. The Company
licenses its elec-tronic design automation software technology and provides a
variety of pro-fessional services. Cadence's design realization solutions are
used to design and develop complex chips and electronic systems, including
semiconductors. The San Jose, California, company had a market capitalization of
$4.5 billion at the time of ranking.
Activision, Inc. publishes, develops, and distributes interactive
entertainment software. The Company's software is used for Microsoft Windows
compatible personal computers and console game systems such as Sony PlayStation
and Nintendo 64. Activision maintains publishing and development operations in
the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. The Santa Monica,
California, company had a market capitalization of $4.3 billion at the time of
ranking.
Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat, Inc. develops and provides open source software
and services, including the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system. The
Company's Web site offers open source software downloads, information and news
and provides an online community of open source software users and developers.
The Raleigh, North Carolina, company had a market capitalization of $4.1 billion
at the time of ranking.
Monster Worldwide, Inc., is the parent company of Monster�,
a global online careers and recruitment resource. The company also owns TMP
Worldwide, a recruitment advertising agency network. Monster Worldwide has
approximately 4,500 employees in 26 countries. The N.Y., N.Y. company has a
market capitalization of approximately $3.9 billion at the time of ranking.
CheckFree Corporation provides electronic commerce products and
services as well as software and investment services. The Company designs,
develops, and markets services that enable its customers to make electronic
payments and collections, automate paper-based recurring transactions, and
conduct secure transactions on the Internet. The Norcross, Georgia, company had
a market capitalization of $3.9 billion at the time of ranking.
Discovery Holding Company , through its subsidiaries, provides media
management and network services to the media and entertainment industries. The
Company also provides non-fiction entertainment. The Englewood, Colorado,
company's Series A common stock had a market capitalization of $3.8 billion at
the time of ranking.
# # #
Media Contact:
Wayne Lee
301.978.4875
Issuer and Investor Contact:
Lisa Chaney
301.978.8281