American Airlines Replaces Allergan in S&P 500

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By Chris Lange Published
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American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) will be the newest addition to the S&P 500, taking the place of Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN). The change will occur after the close of trading Friday, March 20, and it will have a couple implications for the index weighting.

Allergan will be removed from the index because it is being acquired by Actavis PLC (NYSE: ACT). The transaction is valued at $66 billion or $219 per share, the exchange will happen in cash and Actavis shares. It is expected to be completed this week, after receiving approval from the European Commission.

The two other major airlines currently in the index are Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV).

Ultimately what this will mean that American Airlines’ market cap of $35 billion will move into the Transportation sector of the S&P, while Allergan’s market cap of $72 billion will move out of the Healthcare sector of the index.

Shares of American Airlines were up 5.4% at $52.93 shortly after Tuesday’s opening bell. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $68.97 and a 52-week trading range of $28.10 to $56.20.

Shares of Allergan closed Monday up 1.2% at $240.22, in a 52-week trading range of $115.94 to $241.78. The consensus analyst price target is $219.33.

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Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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