03:58 PM EDT, 04/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks declined late Tuesday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index shedding 0.7% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) down 0.6%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.7% lower.

In corporate news, Dentsply Sirona ( XRAY ) shares dropped 4.2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equalweight from overweight.

Skye Bioscience ( SKYE ) shares surged 32% after it said that preclinical data from a murine diet-induced obesity model showed greater than 30% weight loss after 25 days of treatment when the company's nimacimab antibody was combined with tirzepatide.

Verve Therapeutics ( VERV ) shares popped 23% after Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) lifted its full-year operational and reported sales outlook after better-than-expected Q1 results, buoyed by double-digit revenue gains from oncology and cardiovascular products. The shares still eased 0.4%.

GeoVax Labs ( GOVX ) shares tumbled nearly 21% after the company said late Monday Advanced Technology International notified the company to stop work on a phase 2b trial assessing the GEO-CM04S1 COVID-19 vaccine.

MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.