03:55 PM EST, 01/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks gained late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) each rising about 1.5%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 2.5%.

In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) shares were down about 10% as the company faces a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice Thursday over its alleged improper dispensing of opioids.

Atara Biotherapeutics ( ATRA ) shares fell about 8% after its active investigational new drug applications were placed on clinical hold by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Innovate (VATE) shares surged 87% after it said late Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration approved its MediBeacon Transdermal GFR System for the assessment of kidney function in patients with normal or impaired renal function.

Moderna ( MRNA ) shares rose 5%. The company said late Friday it was awarded $590 million by the US Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.