OTC Markets announces first quarter 2021 performance and quarterly rebalancing of its OTCQX and OTCQB indexes

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX:OTCM), the operator of financial markets for 11,000 US and global securities, has announced the first quarter 2021 performance and quarterly rebalancing of its OTCQX and OTCQB indexes, including the OTCQX US Index, OTCQX Canada Index, and the OTCQX Dividend Index. The OTCQX Composite Index, a benchmark for the overall OTCQX Best Market, was up 3.9% in the first quarter. Fifty-eight new companies were added to the index, including AYR WELLNESS INC.; Blackstone Minerals Ltd.; Integrated BioPharma, Inc.; Newcore Gold Ltd.; Tilt Holdings Inc.; The Trendlines Group Ltd.; and Zoetic International PLC. Twenty-seven were removed from the index, including Lexaria Bioscience Corp. which graduated to Nasdaq on 1/12/2021 and URBAN-GRO which graduated to Nasdaq on 2/12/2021. Midas Gold Corp. changed its name to Perpetua Resources Corp. (PPTA) and graduated to Nasdaq on 2/18/2021. Ferguson PLC graduated to NYSE on 3/8/2021. READ: OTC Markets says Tiger Broker, a leading online stock brokerage in Asia has become a new distributor of its Real-Time Level 2+ Quotes The OTCQX US Index, a benchmark for US OTCQX companies, was up 16.5% in the first quarter. Twenty-five companies were added to the index and thirteen companies were removed. The OTCQX Canada Index, which tracks Canadian OTCQX companies, was up 11.9% in the first quarter. Twenty-five companies were added to the index and eight companies were removed. The OTCQX Billion+ Index, which tracks the performance of $1 billion-plus market cap OTCQX companies, was up 3.6% for the quarter. Nine companies were added to the index including Atlantic Sapphire ASA; Bombardier Inc.; Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, and TerrAscend Corp. The OTCQX Dividend Index, which tracks dividend-paying US and international OTCQX companies, was up 3.6% in the quarter. Fourteen new companies were added to the index including Britvic PLC; Endeavour Mining Corporation; Prime Meridian Holding Co.; and TAG Oil Ltd. Fifteen companies were removed. The OTCQX Banks Index, comprised of OTCQX community and regional banks, increased 15.9% in the first quarter. Twelve banks were added to the index in the quarter and four companies were removed. The twelve banks added were Century Next Financial Corp; Equitable Financial Corp; Grand River Commerce Inc.; InBankshares, Corp; JD Bancshares, Inc.; Morris State Bancshares, Inc; Merchants & Marine Bancorp Inc.; Pilot Bancshares, Inc.; Prime Meridian Holding Co.; Town Center Bank (IL); Two Rivers Financial Group, Inc., and Uwharrie Capital Corp. The OTCQX International Index, a benchmark for international OTCQX companies, was up 3.0% for the quarter. Thirty-one new companies were added to the index including Apollo Healthcare Corp.; BIGG Digital Assets Inc; Earthasia International Holdings Limited; Frontier Lithium; Steppe Gold Limited; and Victory Square Technologies Inc. Twenty-two companies were removed. OTCQX Cannabis Index, a benchmark for cannabis companies, was up 26.0% in the first quarter. Eleven new companies joined the index. The eleven companies added were Columbia Care Inc; TPCO HLDG CORP.;  Green Thumb Industries Inc.; Indiva Ltd.; Next Green Wave; Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.; Tilt Holdings Inc.; TerrAscend Corp.; Vireo Health International Inc.; WeedMD Inc;  and Zoetic International PLC. Eight companies were removed. The OTCQB Venture Index, which tracks the overall OTCQB Venture Market, was up 20.3% in the first quarter. One hundred-seven companies were added to the index and sixty-six companies were removed.  For a list of all index additions and deletions, investors can visit https://www.otcmarkets.com/files/Quarterly_Index_Constituent_Changes.pdf All indexes are market capitalization-weighted and adjusted on a quarterly basis for additions and share changes over 5% during the months of March, June, September and December. In the case of ADRs, the DR ratio is considered. Dividends are re-invested as of the close of business the day before the ex-dividend date. The OTCQX Composite Index, OTCQX Billion+ Index, OTCQX Dividend Index, OTCQX International Index, OTCQX US Index, OTCQX Banks Index, OTCQX Cannabis Index, and OTCQB Venture Index have minimum liquidity screens to ensure tradability.  All index data is priced in real-time and is available on the OTC Markets Group website, www.otcmarkets.com, and via major financial data distributors and websites, including Bloomberg, Reuters and FT.com. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com