09:16 AM EST, 03/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were mixed pre-bell Friday as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) was 0.4% lower and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was recently up 0.3%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) shares were nearly 7% higher after the company said it signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity affiliated with Sycamore Partners for up to $23.7 billion.

Acadia Healthcare ( ACHC ) shares were almost 6% lower after the company priced a debt offering to raise $550 million, $50 million more than originally planned.

Plus Therapeutics ( PSTV ) shares advanced by over 43% after the company said its experimental drug, rhenium obisbemeda, demonstrated a median overall survival of 11 months in an early-stage study, outperforming the standard of care of 8 months for recurrent glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor.