BNTX - Will the poor performance of biotechs in January be a barometer for 2022? Look to 2016

If you believe in the January Barometer theory -- that returns in the first month of the year are a bellwether for performance for the rest of the year -- then biotech investors better buckle their seatbelts. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB +1.2%) finished off last month with a loss of 13.6%. The last time it performed that poorly was 2016 when it had a loss of 18.3%. Performance was even worse with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI +1.3%) as it was down 19.1% last month, also its worst January since 2016 when it lost 25.5%. The ETF hit a 21-month low late last month. In 2016, the January Barometer theory held true, at least for biotech stocks. IBB ended the year down 18.8% while XBI was down 12.7%. Interestingly, the S&P 500, which also faltered at the beginning of January 2016, recovered and finished off the year up 13.7%, bucking the Barometer. So, what's going

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Will the poor performance of biotechs in January be a barometer for 2022? Look to 2016