Datadog Stock Surges as Software Maker to Join S&P 500

Shares of Datadog (DDOG) popped in premarket trading Thursday, a day after S&P Global’s announcement that the software firm would be joining the S&P 500 on July 9.

A spot in the benchmark index opened up after Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) on Wednesday completed its acquisition of fellow S&P 500 component Juniper Networks.

Inclusion in the S&P 500 can boost shares by introducing them to new investors or by getting put into various index funds that track the components. 

Datadog shares were up nearly 9% in premarket trading, on pace to move back into positive territory for the year. They have recovered much of the ground they lost starting in February, when lackluster forecasts sent them tumbling.

Robinhood (HOOD) shares were down 3% in premarket trading after hitting an all-time high Wednesday on speculation the trading platform would be the one to replace Juniper Networks in the S&P 500. Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase Global (COIN) was added to the index in May following the merger of Capital One Financial (COF) and Discover Financial Services.