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WHO COULD TAKE JUNIPER'S PLACE IN THE S&P 500 POST ACQUISITION?

With S&P 500 member Juniper Networks acquisition now in the rear view, Stephens' analyst Melissa Roberts expects the new member for the premier index to be announced soon, with the index provider changing some criteria for inclusion.

S&P Dow Jones Indices late on Tuesday announced market capitalization eligibility criteria changes for some its premiere indexes, with the cap for joining the S&P 500 .SPX now at $22.7 billion or more compared to its previous bar of $20.5 billion or more.

Given the new guidelines, Stephens' Roberts expects either trading platform Interactive Brokers IBKR.O or construction and engineering firm EMCOR Group EME.N to be promoted to the S&P 500 from the S&P 400 midcap index .IDX.

"Since we estimate financials are overweight in the (S&P) 400, a migration of IBKR could make sense," she said.

Trading in shares of Juniper Networks JNPR.N was suspended on Wednesday after the U.S. Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging Hewlett Packard Enterprise's HPE.N $14 billion deal to acquire the company on June 28.

Excluding promotions, new companies under Roberts' radar based on their market cap include marketing platform AppLovin APP.O, Robinhood Markets HOOD.O, used-car dealer Carvana CVNA.N, alternative investment manager Ares Management ARES.N, LNG exporter Cheniere Energy LNG.N and social media platform Reddit RDDT.N.

Shares of Robinhood and AppLovin had surged early in June as market speculation grew that either of the companies could be added to the S&P 500, but both saw heavy losses after the index provider announced that it would not be making any changes as part of its latest quarterly rebalancing.

On Wednesday, Robinhood shares were up more than 7% in morning trade.

Stephens' Roberts expects a new candidate to be announced as soon as after markets close on Wednesday.

Crypto-exchange operator Coinbase Global COIN.O was the last addition to the S&P 500 in May.

(Shashwat Chauhan)

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