Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) and AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) announced they will join the S&P 500 Index (SPX) before the market opens on Monday, Aug. 22. The former will substitute Caesars Entertainment (CZR), and the latter will take MarketAxess Holdings' (MKTX) spot. Below, let's take a look at how HOOD and APP are responding to the news.
HOOD is up 14.7% at $116.16 at last check, pacing for its best single-day percentage gain since April 9 and trading just shy of its Aug. 12, record high of $117.70. The $100 level has provided a floor for the shares since mid-July, while the ascending 60-day moving average has acted as an additional long-term layer of support. Over the last 12 months, the equity has added 512.8%.
APP was last seen 10.1% higher to trade at $539.93, and earlier surged to a fresh record of $555.50. The security is also on track for its best day since May 8, as well as its fourth gain over the past five sessions, after bouncing off the 20-day trendline. The equity now sports a whopping 538.8% year-over-year lead.
Options traders are targeting both equities today, with HOOD seeing four times the intraday average volume, while APP has attracted double the amount of calls and puts typically traded at this point. The most popular contract for the former is the weekly 9/12 115-strike call, and for the latter it's the 520-strike put in that same series, with new positions opening at both.
