02:03 PM EDT, 06/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks fell Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) both down 0.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) eased 0.1%.

In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) slashed its full-year earnings outlook amid "challenging" trends in the pharmacy industry and a worsening retail environment. The shares plunged past 25%.

AbbVie ( ABBV ) said Thursday it has acquired privately held biotech company Celsius Therapeutics for $250 million in cash, subject to certain customary adjustments. AbbVie ( ABBV ) shares fell 1.4%.

Silence Therapeutics ( SLN ) said Thursday that results from an early-stage repeat dose study of its drug divesiran showed a sustained reduction in hematocrit, eliminating the need for phlebotomy, or the need to withdraw blood in patients with polycythemia vera, a type of blood cancer. Its shares rose 4.7%.