Talecris Biotherapeutics investors got a bit of good news today.
Shares of the Triangle's largest biotechnology company will be added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index next Monday. The index currently has 123 members.
Talecris will be one of nine new stocks that will be added (four companies will be dropped).
Inclusion on the index was a safe bet for Talecris, since the index includes most of the biotech companies that are listed on the Nasdaq. But being added to the index does have benefits: Stocks often rise when they're added as mutual funds and other investors buy the new securities for their portfolios.
Talecris shares rose 24 cents today to close at $17.97. The stock remains below the $19 per-share price where it began trading publicly last fall.
Talecris makes medicines from blood plasma at a Clayton factory that's being expanded. Investors have worried recently that the company's ability to raise prices for drugs will be hampered by the economy and health-reform legislation.
The company employs more than 4,700 people worldwide, including more than 2,200 in the Triangle.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or