Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading
Health care stocks were lower Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each shedding 1.4%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) decreased 0.7%.In sector news, the US Food and Drug Administration said it was launching regulatory actions to back the development of psychedelic therapies to treat mental illness. The move builds on President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate access to treatments for people with serious mental illness, the FDA said.In corporate news, HCA Healthcare's (HCA) Q1 results exceeded market expectations, but the hospital operator said it did not see its usual seasonal lift in admissions amid declines in respiratory activity. Its shares dropped 9%.Organon (OGN) shares surged 28% amid a report that India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was planning a $13 billion bid for the company.Compass Pathways (CMPS) shares rose 5% after it said Friday the US Food and Drug Administration has granted its rolling review request for its new drug application and selected COMP360 for the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher program for treatment-resistant depression.