Healthcare stocks were higher late Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index rising 0.2% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 0.5%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 1.4%.
In corporate news, Conmed (CNMD) shares jumped 9% after Bloomberg Law reported that the company is exploring options including a potential sale amid takeover interest from private equity firms.
A federal appeals court on Monday vacated a district court's earlier dismissal of plaintiff claims that they were not warned that prenatal ingestion of Kenvue's (KVUE) Tylenol and its generic equivalents could cause autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Kenvue shares were down 1.5%.
Humana (HUM) shares gained 4.1% after Wells Fargo upgraded the company's stock to overweight from equal-weight and increased the price target to $502 From $227.
Hemab Therapeutics' (COAG) HMB-002 is particularly well suited for Type 1 von Willebrand disease patients despite encouraging early data from Incyte's (INCY) latarcibart, Wedbush Securities said in a note. Hemab shares rose 3.3%, and Incyte was down 1.5%.