Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

MT newswire2026/10/09 19:57

03:57 PM EDT, 10/09/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks rose late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index up 1.2% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 1.6%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 2.8%. In corporate news, Humana (HUM) shares surged 12% after it affirmed its full-year 2026 guidance of at least $9 in adjusted earnings per common share. Humana also said Friday that 95% of its Medicare Advantage members are enrolled in plans with ratings of at least four stars by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for 2027, which it called a "significant improvement." Shares of Moderna (MRNA) and other vaccine developers rose after The New York Times reported that the US National Institutes of Health is part of a public-private partnership to accelerate the development of cancer vaccines. Moderna shares jumped 12%. Merck (MRK), Novavax (NVAX) and BioNTech (BNTX) shares were up 2.6%, 17% and 5.3%, respectively. Vaxcyte (PCVX) and Vir Biotechnology (VIR) shares popped 10% and 5.6%, respectively. Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) shares were falling 5.2%. The company's weighted average occupancy rose sequentially but at a slower rate in September, resulting in Q3 occupancy coming in "slightly below" estimates, RBC Capital Markets said in a note emailed Friday. TRex Bio (TRXB) shares were up 1.4% after the company's Nasdaq debut. The biotech company priced its initial public offering of around 8.3 million common shares at $14 apiece for gross proceeds of $116.7 million.

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