LI's Aeroflex, Verint now on Russell 3000

Two Long Island companies are being added to the Russell 3000 Index of industry-leading businesses --  Aeroflex Holding Corp., of Plainview, a semiconductor and component maker; and Verint Systems Inc., of Melville, a computer software and systems maker.

The index is compiled by Russell Investments, of Seattle, which added 186 companies to its index during this adjustment period, before the list is reconstituted on June 24.

The Russell 3000 "reflects about 98 percent of the investable U.S. equity universe", the index company said.

The market capitalization of the companies on the list will increase from $13.4 trillion as of May 31, 2010, to $16.7 trillion as of May 31 this year. And the median market capitalization will increase by 23 percent from $802 million in 2010 to $1.04 billion this year, the Russell Index said.

Companies are being added, and others dropped, to ensure that the index reflects the current realities of commerce, "ensuring that stocks are moved into the right ‘buckets’ to truly represent small-cap, midcap, large-cap and microcap stocks," the Index said. "It also serves as a clear measure of the shifts in relative valuations of value and growth stocks over the past year." 

Photo: Aeroflex workers at the plant in Plainview.