Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Rise in Afternoon Trading

Health care stocks gained Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 1.2% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.9%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 2.2%.

In corporate news, Boston Scientific reported stronger-than-expected Q4 revenue on a jump in the cardiovascular segment and forecast a deceleration in sales growth this year. The stock rose 1.8%.

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Novo Nordisk stated that while it is not immune to potential U.S. tariffs, it remains confident in its business positioning. The company addressed these concerns following its Q4 earnings report.

At the same time, investors have sued Novo Nordisk, alleging it misled them about the methodology and outcomes of its REDEFINE-1 obesity trial for CagriSema. You can find more details about it here and stay updated on any future changes.

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were down in late-morning trading on Wednesday following the release of earnings results from some of the world's largest tech companies.

In company news, Alphabet reported Q4 earnings late Tuesday of $2.15 per diluted share, up from $1.64 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet of $2.13. Fourth-quarter revenue was $96.47 billion, up from $86.31 billion in the year-ago period but below the FactSet consensus estimate of $96.68 billion. Shares of Alphabet were down 7.9% near noon.

Advanced Micro Devices reported late Tuesday Q4 non-GAPP earnings of $1.09 per diluted share, up from $0.77 a year ago and above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $1.08. Fourth-quarter revenue was $7.66 billion, up from $6.17 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet estimate of $7.53 billion. The chipmaker said it expects Q1 revenue of about $7.1 billion, plus or minus $300 million. The midpoint of the guidance range implies annual growth of around 30% and a sequential decline of about 7%. Analysts expect about $7.05 billion. AMD shares were down 8.3%.

Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported Q4 earnings of 6.34 Danish kroner ($0.88) per diluted share, up from 4.91 kroner a year earlier and above the FactSet analyst consensus of 5.96 kroner. Fourth-quarter sales were 85.68 billion kroner, up from 65.86 billion kroner in the year-ago period and above the analyst consensus of 80.7 billion kroner. For full-year 2025, the company expects constant-exchange-rate sales growth of 16% to 24%. Novo Nordisk shares were up 4.5%.

Walt Disney reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $1.76 per diluted share, up from $1.22 a year earlier and above the FactSet analyst consensus estimate of $1.45. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $24.69 billion, up from $23.55 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $24.67 billion. For fiscal 2025, the company expects adjusted EPS to grow in the high-single digits relative to 2024. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $5.41. Disney shares were down 1.0%.

Uber Technologies reported Q4 earnings Wednesday of $3.21 per diluted share, up from $0.66 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $0.50. Fourth-quarter revenue was $11.96 billion, up from $9.94 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $11.76 billion. Uber said it expects Q1 gross bookings to be in a range of $42 billion to $43.5 billion. The guidance range's midpoint of $42.75 billion fell short of the FactSet-polled consensus of $43.48 billion, according to MT Newswires' calculations. Uber shares were down 6.9%.

UnitedHealth Group shares fell on Wednesday following a now-deleted post from investor Bill Ackman on X questioning the company's profitability and stating that he would short its stock, Bloomberg reported. Shares of the company were down 2.8%.

(Updates with UnitedHealth's response to Ackman's social media post.)

UnitedHealth Group shares declined on Wednesday following a now-deleted post from investor Bill Ackman on X, saying that he would short the health insurer's stock, while questioning the company's profitability, according to Bloomberg.

Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital, said he would not be surprised to find that the insurer's profitability is "massively overstated" due to its denial of medically necessary procedures and patient care, Bloomberg reported.

"Health insurance has long been subject to significant regulatory oversight and earnings caps," UnitedHealth said in a statement posted on its website. "Any claims that health insurers, which typically have low- to mid-single digit margins, can somehow over-earn are grossly uninformed about the structure and strong regulatory oversight of the sector."

UnitedHealth shares were down 2.3% in recent trading.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were trending sharply higher late Wednesday morning, rising 1.36% to 1,375.76 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by internet advertising firm Criteo and financial services company Banco Santander , which advanced 21% and 8.2%, respectively. They were followed by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and biopharmaceutical company Genfit , which increased 5% and 4.6%, respectively.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by petroleum refiner Equinor and biopharmaceutical company DBV Technologies , which dropped 3.7% and 2.4%, respectively. They were followed by furniture maker Natuzzi and financial services company ING , which were off 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

From the UK and Ireland, the gainers were led by pharmaceutical companies GSK and Silence Therapeutics , which rose 7.5% and 2.5%, respectively. They were followed by tobacco company British American Tobacco and biopharmaceutical company Akari Therapeutics , which were up 2% and 1.7%, respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biotech firm Trinity Biotech and biopharmaceutical company TC Biopharm , which lost 5.9% and 3.8%, respectively. They were followed by alcoholic beverage company Diageo and biotech firm Autolus Therapeutics , which were down 2.9% and 0.9%, respectively.

Boston Scientific reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue on Wednesday amid a sharp gain in its cardiovascular segment, while guiding for a deceleration in top-line growth this year.

Revenue jumped to $4.56 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31 from $3.73 billion the year earlier and topped the $4.42 billion average analyst estimate on FactSet. Adjusted earnings per share advanced to $0.70 from $0.55 month to month.

Shares of the medical device maker were up 2.4% in Wednesday trade.

Cardiovascular sales jumped about 29% to $2.94 billion, while revenue rose 12% in MedSurg to $1.62 billion. Sales in its biggest geographic region, the US, advanced about 31%.

In a statement, Chief Executive Mike Mahoney called 2024 "one of the best years" in the company's history, which he said was "fueled by our innovative portfolio, the launch of our FARAPULSE Pulsed Field Ablation System as well as significant clinical achievements and commercial excellence across businesses and regions."

For 2025, Boston Scientific expects sales to grow between 12.5% and 14.5% on a reported basis over 2024's sales of $16.75 billion, which was up nearly 18%. The FactSet consensus is for revenue of $18.81 billion in the ongoing year. Adjusted EPS is projected in the $2.80 to $2.87 range from 2024's $2.51.

"We expect to expand adjusted operating margin in 2025 by another 50 basis points to 75 basis points, balancing differentiated operating margin expansion while making targeted investments to fuel long-term top line growth," Chief Financial Officer Daniel Brennan told analysts on a conference call, according to a FactSet transcript. In 2024, adjusted operating margin improved 70 basis points to 27%, he said.

In the first quarter, sales are expected to increase between 17% and 19%, compared with $3.86 billion in the same quarter of 2024. Analysts are modeling for sales of $4.46 billion in the ongoing quarter. Boston Scientific guided for adjusted EPS between $0.66 and $0.68, up from the $0.56 it reported in the same quarter last year.