Health care stocks fell Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index shedding 0.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) down 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) dropped 0.4%.

In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares surged 20%. The company is in talks to be acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled Tuesday that a state law abrogates Trumbull County and Lake County's common-law claims that Walmart (WMT), CVS Health (CVS) and Walgreens created a public nuisance "by filling prescriptions for opioids without controls in place to stop the distribution of those that were illicitly prescribed." Walmart shares added 0.6%, and CVS fell 1.3%.

CervoMed (CRVO) shares plunged 76% after the company said a phase 2b trial assessing neflamapimod to treat people with dementia with Lewy bodies failed to meet its primary or key secondary endpoints.