Biotechnology vs the S&P 500 (XBI): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XBI has outperformed the S&P 500 by 5.2 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XBI sits on the rotation map
Biotechnology highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
XBI vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XBI (biotechnology) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XBI won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-23 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Biotechnology (XBI) sits in the leading quadrant of the rotation map: it has decisively beaten the S&P 500 by 5.2 points over the past month, on top of a 3.2-point advantage over the longer, time-shifted window. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #24 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XBI's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XBI's relative-strength line is holding around its moving averages — the trend is intact but no longer extending. The longer trend remains healthier than the recent tape suggests — the kind of divergence worth rechecking in a week.
The exposure comes via SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, whose 148 tracked holdings are led by APOGEE THERAPEUTICS INC, ERASCA INC and MODERNA INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 36.2× earnings and 877.1× sales. The thing to watch from here is durability: leaders that hold their one-month spread while the longer window keeps building tend to stay leaders; a fading spread is the early exit signal.
What's inside XBI
Top 5 of 148 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Biotechnology vs the market — common questions
Is biotechnology outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month XBI has outperformed the S&P 500 by 5.2 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XBI?
XBI is SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, the fund Zensei uses to measure the biotechnology group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XBI?
XBI's largest tracked positions are APOGEE THERAPEUTICS INC, ERASCA INC, MODERNA INC, KYMERA THERAPEUTICS INC ORDINARY SHARES, TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP — 148 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is part of Zensei Premium.
What quadrant is biotechnology in right now?
As of the latest daily data, biotechnology is in the leading quadrant — outperforming the S&P 500 on both the recent and the longer, time-shifted window. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track biotechnology against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.