By Medha Singh
(Reuters) - A meteoric rise in MicroStrategy's ( MSTR ) shares has made the bitcoin hoarder a likely candidate for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index ahead of an annual reshuffle this week.
MicroStrategy's stock price as up 6% before the bell on Wednesday.
The loss-making software company, an aggressive investor in the highly volatile cryptocurrency, has seen its shares soar nearly 500% this year, taking its market capitalization to $90 billion.
The world's largest cryptocurrency hit the $100,000 milestone for the first time last week and has doubled in value this year. It got a big boost after Donald Trump's U.S. election victory as investors expect the president-elect to make good on his promise of a crypto-friendly administration.
A Nasdaq 100 inclusion could spur more gains for MicroStrategy, whose bitcoin holding was valued at about $42 billion, as more investment firms include the stock in their portfolios to accurately reflect the index composition.
For an entry into the index, a stock listed on the Nasdaq exchange must rank among the top 100 by market value, have a minimum daily trading volume of 200,000 shares and not be in the financial sector. The reshuffle announcement is due on Friday after market close.
"MicroStrategy seems to check all the boxes to make it into the Nasdaq 100 when it is reconstituted in December," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management.
The potential addition would give the Nasdaq 100 index indirect exposure to bitcoin and could make related ETFs more appealing to a younger investor base, said Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF research at VettaFi.
Data analytics firm Palantir ( PLTR ), which has risen four-fold in market value to $160 billion this year, is another likely candidate for index inclusion.
AI server maker Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) could be among the ones to be ejected from the index as it has delayed filing its annual and quarterly reports. Super Micro CEO Charles Liang said on Tuesday he was confident the company would not be delisted.
Nasdaq did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Riding on bitcoin boom
MicroStrategy adopted bitcoin as its main treasury reserve asset in 2020 under the leadership of co-founder Michael Saylor as revenue from its software business slowed.
The company has amassed 400,000 bitcoins, making it the biggest corporate holder of the digital asset. It financed its purchases through a combination of equity and debt deals and controls over 2% of bitcoin's total supply which is capped at 21 million.
The company reported a net loss of $340 million in the three ended Sept. 20, its third consecutive quarterly loss.
Not everyone is convinced about MicroStrategy's potential entry into the tech index.
Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, said that the sharp rise in the company's market value "is not the result of its business as a software company (but) its sizeable investments in bitcoin financed by significant equity and debt capital markets activity."
"MicroStrategy should be reclassified as a 'financial' (stock) which would render it ineligible for the Nasdaq 100."
MicroStrategy is viewed by market participants as equivalent to a leveraged bitcoin fund, J.P.Morgan said in a note last week.
Wall Street believes there is room for the stock to grow. All nine brokerages currently covering MicroStrategy rate it "buy" or higher with a median price target of $510, which implies a 35% upside from the stock's last close.