Health care stocks rose late Monday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) each increasing 0.1%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 0.6%.

In corporate news, CVS Health (CVS) said its subsidiary Omnicare started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in a bid to resolve recent litigation issues and evaluate restructuring options. CVS shares rose 0.6%.

Pfizer (PFE) agreed to buy weight-loss drug developer Metsera (MTSR) for $4.9 billion in cash with an additional contingent payment of up to $2.4 billion tied to three clinical and regulatory milestones. Pfizer shares rose 0.2%, and Metsera surged 61%.

Premier (PINC) shares jumped 9.8% after the company agreed to be acquired and taken private by an affiliate of Patient Square Capital for $2.6 billion.

AstraZeneca (AZN) shares rose 1.9% after the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended approval of the company's Koselugo in the EU to treat neurofibromatosis type 1.