Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Sputter at Close

Health care stocks drifted lower in afternoon trading with the NYSE Health Care Index slipping 0.5% and the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF XLV down 1.1%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB also was sinking 1.9%.

In company news, Exelixis EXEL slid 4.5% on Friday after the oncology company said a combination of its cabozantinib and Genentech's Tecentriq cancer medication failed to meet its primary endpoint of improving overall survival compared with another cancer medication in patients with small cell lung cancer whose disease did not respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor and platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Mirati Therapeutics MMRTX dropped 4.9% following a Citigroup downgrade of the oncology company to neutral from buy coupled with a $68 reduction in its price target for Mirati shares to $53.

Autolus Therapeutics AUTL declined almost 38% after the immunotherapies company Friday priced a $150 million public offering of 75 million American depositary shares at $2 apiece compared with Thursday's closing price of $2.99 a share.

Baudax Bio BBXRX added more than 28% after saying late Thursday it started phase 2 testing of its BX1000 drug candidate to evaluate safety, tolerability and intubation conditions of the neuromuscular blocking agent in anesthetized patients during and following elective surgeries. Intubating conditions are a required endpoint needed for neuromuscular blockades to gain regulatory approval, according to the company.