Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Mixed Pre-Bell Tuesday

09:16 AM EDT, 09/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks were mixed pre-bell Tuesday, with the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) 0.2% lower and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) up 0.6%. Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) shares were up more than 24% after the company said its subcutaneous VK2735 showed "superior weight maintenance" under less frequent dosing regiments compared to placebo over a 12-week period in a clinical study. Shares of Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and Labcorp (LH) were down more than 6% after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it is planning new payment rates for laboratory services, expected to save $1 billion annually. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) stock was up more than 2% after the company said that a phase 2b study of inaxaplin to treat patients with APOL1-mediated kidney disease showed a 42.7% protein reduction, and a 17.3% reduction in patients who also have type 2 diabetes.