Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Advance Friday Afternoon

Health care stocks rose Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index gaining 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) eased 0.1%.

In corporate news, Novavax NVAX shares doubled after it struck a licensing deal with Sanofi SAN to co-commercialize the former's adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine and develop combination vaccines against influenza. Sanofi rose 0.8%.

Moderna MRNA shares dropped 4.1% after the US Food and Drug Administration pushed back its pending review of the company's respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to the end of the month due to "administrative constraints."

Progyny PGNY shares plunged 19% after the company reported a revenue miss in Q1. KeyBanc also downgraded the stock.