Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Softer Late Afternoon

03:49 PM EDT, 10/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each down about 0.5%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.8%. In corporate news, UnitedHealth (UNH) was sued Tuesday by several large companies, including Aramark Services (ARMK), Kraft Heinz (KHC) and Whirlpool (WHR), which allege the company caused them to use plan assets to pay "improper, false, and fraudulent claims" and overpay claims, according to court documents. UnitedHealth shares were down 0.4%. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) said Wednesday it plans to separate its Nutrition business into a publicly traded firm with about $8.5 billion in annual sales. Separately, Abbott reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.42, up from $1.30 a year ago and matching the FactSet consensus. Shares fell 2.8%. Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) shares rose 1.2% after the firm reported higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue. Danaher (DHR) shares added 3.5% after the company posted higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and sales, and raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance. Opus Genetics (IRD) shares gained 3% after the firm said the US Food and Drug Administration cleared its investigational new drug application for OPGx-RDH12, a gene therapy candidate for a rare inherited disease that causes childhood vision loss.