Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Advance Late Afternoon
Healthcare stocks rose late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index adding 0.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) increasing 0.1%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 0.5%.In corporate news, Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares gained 2.9% after it said Wednesday the European Commission granted marketing authorization for its Wegovy pill for the treatment of adults with obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.Elevance Health (ELV) reported sequential and annual declines in its Q2 memberships, although the health insurer lifted its full-year earnings outlook and recorded an unexpected year-over-year revenue increase in the previous three-month period. The shares fell past 9%.Veradermics (MANE) shares jumped 12% after the company said its VDPHL01 achieved rapid onset of hair growth with the majority of participants in a phase 2 clinical trial of females with mild-to-moderate pattern hair loss.Eli Lilly-backed (LLY) AdvanCell has raised $315 million from its Series D financing, with participating investors such as Bain Capital and Fidelity Management & Research, Bloomberg reported. Lilly shares were fractionally higher.
