Health care stocks were decreasing Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) each shedding 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 1.8%.

In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) reported Friday better-than-expected fiscal Q1 results buoyed by sales growth across its divisions, and the drugstore chain reiterated its full-year earnings outlook amid a challenging US retail environment. Its shares jumped past 28%.

TransMedics (TMDX) shares were down 6.4% following a short seller report by Scorpion Capital, which called the company an "organ trafficking scheme masquerading as a medical device company."

Royalty Pharma (RPRX) shares jumped nearly 13% after the company said it would buy its external manager RP Management for about $1.1 billion, including 24.5 million in shares that will vest over five to nine years, about $100 million in cash, and the assumption of $380 million of debt.