U.S. stocks extended gains in afternoon trading, as a strong earnings report from Visa Inc. spurred a sharp advance in the Dow industrials.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 176 points, or 1%, to 17150. The S&P 500 index gained 11 points, or 0.5%, to 1993, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tacked on 17 points, or 0.4%, to 4566. After a volatile month, investors’ focus moved back to individual stocks and sectors on Thursday, traders said, amid a flurry of corporate earnings reports.

Johnson & Johnson(NYSE:JNJ) may pay more than $250M to resolve lawsuits over its ASR hip implants that were excluded from a $2.5B settlement of similar claims last year over the device’s failure, Bloomberg reports.JNJ reportedly is is weighing whether to settle more than 1,000 lawsuits over removals of recalled ASR hip implants that occurred after Aug. 2013, extending the same settlement terms that covered patients who had their ASR implants removed earlier than last summer.

Bloomberg reports Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) is in "exclusive talks" to buy Belgian over-the-counter drugmaker Omega Pharma, and that a deal could be reached soon.Omega was previously reported to be on the block back in August. Bloomberg's sources state the company could be sold for over €4B ($5B).

AstraZeneca's (NYSE:AZN) new two-in-one diabetes pill has received the green light from U.S. regulators.The pill, Xigduo XR, combines the company's recently launched diabetes treatment dapagliflozin with an older kind of medicine called metformin.Xigduo XR is the first once-daily tablet combining an SGLT2 inhibitor drug and metformin to win U.S. approval.

Acadia Healthcare Company Inc(NASDAQ:ACHC) Q3 results: Revenues: $294.5M (+59.4%); Net Income: $25.4M (+76.4%); EPS: $0.43 (+48.3%); Quick Assets: $42.2M (+817.4%); CF Ops: $69M (+49.4%).2014 Guidance: Adjusted EPS: $1.52 - 1.53 from $1.44 - 1.46.

Charles River Laboratories(NYSE:CRL) Q3 results: Revenues: $327.6M (+12.2%); COGS: $209.3M (+8.9%); SG&A: $64.5M (+17.5%); Operating Income: $46.2M (+13.2%); Net Income: $32M (+3.6%); EPS: $0.68 (+6.3%); Quick Assets: $130.7M (-16.2%) CF Ops: $152.3M (+3.9%).