The Biggest Stocks in the Nasdaq By Diane Alter

The biggest stocks in the Nasdaq make up the Nasdaq 100 - a stock market index comprising the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Nasdaq 100 is not to be confused with the Nasdaq Composite Index, which is composed of every company listed on the Nasdaq exchange. The post The Biggest Stocks in the Nasdaq appeared first on Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From .

The biggest stocks in the Nasdaq make up the Nasdaq 100 - a stock market index comprising the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Biggest Stocks in the NasdaqLaunched in January 1985, the Nasdaq 100 (Index Nasdaq: NDX) is not to be confused with the Nasdaq Composite Index (frequently referred to as simply "the Nasdaq"), which includes all of the more than 3,000 companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

The Nasdaq 100 is a modified capitalization-weighted index, meaning stocks' weights in the index are based on their market cap (or value), with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components to allow for more diversification. And, there are actually 101 stocks in the index thanks to Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL) dual class listing.

A major rebalancing of the Nasdaq 100 took place in May 2011 to bring it closer to market cap weighting. The index continues to be rebalanced when one company is worth more than 25% of the index and when companies with a weighting of at least 4.5% constitute 48% of the index.

To accomplish this, the Nasdaq Stock Market reviews the composition of the Nasdaq 100 Index on a quarterly basis and adjusts the weightings of the index components using a proprietary algorithm if certain pre-established weight distribution requirements are not met.

The Nasdaq 100's lack of financial companies makes it unique. Another distinction from benchmarks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average is that it includes foreign companies (nine at last count from eight countries). The S&P 500 Index also includes non-U.S. companies.

The foreign entities in the Nasdaq 100 include Avago Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: AVGO) from Bermuda; Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq ADR: BIDU) from China; Catamaran Corp. (Nasdaq: CTRX) from Canada; Check Point Software Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: CHKP) from Israel; Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN) from Switzerland; Liberty Global Plc. (Nasdaq: LBTYA) from the U.K.; NXP Semiconductors NV (Nasdaq: NXPI) from the Netherlands; Seagate Technology Plc. (Nasdaq: STX) from Ireland; and Vodafone Group Plc. (Nasdaq ADR: VOD) from the U.K.

Here's a look at how the Nasdaq 100 is performing in 2014 - as well as which stocks in the index are currently leading the pack...

The Tech-Heavy Nasdaq 100

A large percentage of the weighting of the Nasdaq 100 comes from technology-related companies. So, the index is commonly associated with the performance of the technology sector as a whole. Biotech, however, has started to take up a bigger share of the index.

The Nasdaq 100 is up 13.1% since the start of 2014. The tech-heavy index is handily besting year-to-date gains of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite, up 2.6%, 7.6%, and 9% respectively.

Since companies' stock prices fluctuate daily, so do their market caps and thus their positions in the Nasdaq 100 ranking.

Following are the 25 biggest stocks in the Nasdaq 100 Index based on their market cap as of Sept. 10, as well as their year-to-date gains. This gives investors a good idea of how each stock has weighed on the Nasdaq 100's performance since the start of the year.

Biggest Stocks in the Nasdaq

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) sports a $588 billion market cap. Shares are up 22.22% year to date.

Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) has a market cap of $394.18 billion. Shares are up 4.9% year to date.

Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) has a market cap of $393.73 billion. Shares are up 4.7% year to date.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) has a market cap of $385 billion. Shares are up 24.91% year to date.

Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) has a market cap of $200.49 billion. Shares are up 41.23% year to date.

Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) has a market cap of $172.59 billion. Shares are up 34.35% year to date.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) has a market cap of $161.75 billion. Shares are up 42.52% year to date.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) has a market cap of $153 billion. Shares are down 17% year to date.

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) has a market cap of $146.43 billion. Shares are up 9.02% year to date.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) has a market cap of $127.73 billion. Shares are up 11.10% year to date.

QUALCOM Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) has a market cap $127.15 billion. Shares are up 2.52% year to date.

Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) has a market cap of $105.13 billion. Shares are up 21.41% year to date.

Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) has a market cap of $78 billion. Shares are up 18.2% year to date.

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (Nasdaq: FOXA) has a market cap of $77.03 billion. Shares are up 1.02% year to date.

Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq ADR: BIDU) boasts a market cap of $76.63 billion. Shares are up 22.85% year to date.

Celgene Corp. (Nasdaq: CELG) has a market cap of $74.72 billion. Shares are up 10.59% year to date.

eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) has a market cap of $63.5 billion. Shares are down 6.6% year to date.

Priceline Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN) has a market cap of $61.94 billion. Shares are up 1.7% year to date.

Mondelez International Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) has a market cap of $59.38 billion. Shares are up 0.62% year to date.

Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) has a market cap of $57.94 billion. Shares are down 1.61% year to date.

Express Scripts Holding Co. (Nasdaq: ESRX) has a market cap of $55.65 billion. Shares are up 6.46% year to date.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (Nasdaq: COST) has a market cap of $55.27 billion. Shares are up 5.91% year to date.

Texas Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: TXN) has a market cap of $51.11 billion. Shares are up 8.97% year to date.

DirectTV (Nasdaq: DTV) has a market cap of $43.48 billion. Shares are up 25.24% year to date.

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) has a market cap of $40.5 billion. Shares are up 0.63% year to date.

Next: Apple shares have dipped recently on a string of overhyped "threats." But the AAPL stock price won't stay low for long - in fact, it's headed to a split-adjusted price of $1,000 per share in less than two years. This may be your last chance to get a bargain on Apple...

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The post The Biggest Stocks in the Nasdaq appeared first on Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From.

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