Health care stocks advanced Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 0.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.1%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.5%.
In corporate news, UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) Q4 results increased on an annual basis, but revenue fell short of market expectations, while the health insurer kept its full-year outlook unchanged on Thursday. Its shares dropped 5.4%.
Biomerica (BMRA) shares surged 85% after the company said Thursday its Fortel prostate-specific antigen screening test has been approved by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention for detection of prostate cancer.
Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA) shares fell 38% after the company reported "compliance issues" involving a third-party manufacturing facility for Ebvallo, a treatment for people with Epstein-Barr virus positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease.
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