01:59 PM EST, 01/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks advanced Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 0.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.1%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.5%.

In corporate news, UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH ) Q4 results increased on an annual basis, but revenue fell short of market expectations, while the health insurer kept its full-year outlook unchanged on Thursday. Its shares dropped 5.4%.

Biomerica ( BMRA ) shares surged 85% after the company said Thursday its Fortel prostate-specific antigen screening test has been approved by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention for detection of prostate cancer.

Atara Biotherapeutics ( ATRA ) shares fell 38% after the company reported "compliance issues" involving a third-party manufacturing facility for Ebvallo, a treatment for people with Epstein-Barr virus positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease.