MSCI Index Removal Forces Passive Funds to Dump Strategy Shares
MSTR sits 41% above its 52-week low of $81.81.
Summary
MSCI confirmed it will drop Strategy from its global equity benchmarks, including the MSCI USA index, at the end of the month, classifying the company as a "non-operating company" because of its bitcoin treasury. That forces index-tracking passive funds to sell their positions, and the stock is down 6.1% to $114.95 in premarket trading Thursday. The removal follows Strategy's August letter calling the proposal "discriminatory, arbitrary, and misguided." The stock is down 41% over the past year while bitcoin has fallen 26%, so the index exit adds mechanical selling pressure on top of an already weak crypto tape. The exclusion takes effect at month-end.
At the time of this announcement, MSTR was trading at $115.30 on NASDAQ in the Crypto Assets sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $51.7B. The 52-week trading range was $81.81 to $239.24. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.