Top Health Care Stocks
JNJ +0.04%
PFE +0.10%
MRK -0.71%
ABT -0.02%
AMGN -0.60%
Health care stocks were posting small gains in early afternoon
trade Wednesday, with the NYSE Health Care Index adding about 0.3%
while shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 were up
aboutr 0.1% as a group.
In company news, Juno Therapeutics (
JUNO
) was surging Wednesday after federal regulators late Tuesday
lifted their clinical hold on phase II testing of its JCAR015 drug
candidate to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Under the revised protocol, the trial will continue enrollment
using JCAR015 with cyclophosphamide pre-conditioning only. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration last week suspended the trial after
two patient deaths that followed the addition of fludarabine to the
pre-conditioning regimen.
JUNO shares were up nearly 16% at $32.15 each, easing from a
prior session high of $35.00 a share.
In other sector news,
(+) IMPR, (+31.2%) Agrees to be acquired by private equity firm
Thoma Bravo for $544 mln, or $19.25 a share in cash, a 33% premium
over Tuesday's closing price.
(-) AVGR, (-39.6%) Sees Q2 revenue rising 57% over last year to
$4.7 mln, trailing Street view by at least $1 mln. Cuts projected
FY16 revenue to $19 mln to $24 mln, down $6 mln from prior view and
lagging analyst consensus by at least $4.3 mln.