(Vienna) At today's meeting, the ATX Committee reached a decision on changes to the leading Austrian index, ATX, as well as on further Austrian indices. All decisions made today will take effect on 23 March 2015. The review of the composition of the ATX did not result in any changes. In the ATX five, which is the index that contains the five largest and most frequently traded stocks on the Vienna Stock Exchange, Raiffeisen Bank International AG will be replaced by Immofinanz AG due to its higher market capitalization. The ATX five will contain the stocks of the following companies in the future: Andritz AG, Erste Group Bank AG, Immofinanz AG, OMV AG and voestalpine AG. Furthermore, changes have also been made to the composition of the ATX prime: Frauenthal Holding AG will be excluded from the prime market because its free float capitalisation is too low. The company meets all of the other criteria of the rules and regulations for the prime market. Frauenthal Holding AG may rejoin the prime market at a later time if, apart from meeting all of the other criteria, it complies with the minimum free float capitalisation requirements sustainably.
Today's meeting also dealt with new free float factors. The free float factor indicates how many stocks of a company are held widely by the public. A higher free float factor results in a higher weighting of a company in the index. Due to shifts in shareholdings, the following adjustments to the free float factor result for companies listed on the prime market.
| Company | Free float factor |
|---|---|
| AMAG Austria Metall AG | 0.20 -> 0.10 |
| CA Immobilien Anlagen AG | 0.90 -> 0.80 |
| Valneva SE | 0.70 -> 0.80 |
The Index Committee meets four times a year and reaches decisions twice a year (March and September) on the inclusion or exclusion of stocks from the Austrian indices. The decision on new additions to the index is based on the daily average trading volume and the free float capitalisation of companies. The free float is the share of stocks in circulation on the stock market and distributed across a large number of investors. The Committee moreover decides on adjustments to weighting factors in the index. Once a month, the is published. Representatives of institutional investors, trading members of the Vienna Stock Exchange, academics and the Vienna Stock Exchange contribute their know-how to the Index Committee. A .
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