Health care stocks were edging higher this afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 0.5% while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF also was up 0.4%.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology index was falling 0.3% in recent trade.
Stocks moving on news include a 7% gain for Novavax (NVAX) after the biopharmaceuticals company late Tuesday reported positive results from phase I testing of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, saying NVX-CoV2373 was generally well tolerated and produced a "robust" antibody response in healthy study participants when combined with its saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant.
RENS Technology (MYOS) also rose as much as 132% on Wednesday before easing to a 36% gain in more recent trade, after the nutritional products company narrowed its Q2 net loss to $0.07 per share compared with a $0.13 per share loss during the same quarter last year while revenue grew 114% over year-ago levels to $329,000 during the three months ended June 30. Analyst estimates were not available.
Teladoc Health (TDOC) tumbled over 15% after the virtual health care provider Wednesday said it was acquiring remote data-capture company Livongo (LVGO) for $18.5 billion in cash and stock. Under terms of the proposed transaction, investors will receive 0.592 of a Teladoc share and $11.33 in cash for each of their Livongo shares, valuing the target company at $159 per share, or about 10% above Tuesday's closing price. Livongo shares were down 8% this afternoon.
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