Health care stocks added to their Wednesday advance this afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index climbing 1% and the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF (XLV) rising 0.7%.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology index was ahead 0.4% in late trade.
In company news, Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) rose 8% after Wednesday said started the phase 2 portion of a program evaluating GBT601 for the potential treatment of sickle cell disease.
Patterson Companies (PDCO) rose almost 11% after the dental and animal health supplies company reported non-GAAP net income of $0.71 per share for Q4, nearly doubling its $0.38 per share during the year-ago period and topping the Capital IQ consensus by $0.15 per share. Net sales grew 5.1% year-over-year to $1.64 billion, also exceeding the $1.59 billion Street view.
Can-Fite BioPharma (CANF) surged nearly 17% after the biopharmaceuticals company reported positive top-line results from a late-stage study of its Piclidenoson drug candidate, with the prospective treatment for plaque psoriasis showing a statistically significant improvement in symptoms and severity compared with a placebo. It also performed better than the active control drug, the company said.
Allena Pharmaceuticals (ALNA) soared over 118% after saying it terminated an at-the-market sales deal with B. Riley Securities after selling slightly more than 6.8 million shares.