Triad Left in Lurch as CFO Walks

Triad (TRI Quote) is licking its wounds after losing its highly regarded CFO, Burke Whitman, to competing hospital operator Health Management Associates (HMA Quote).

Triad announced on Thursday that Whitman will leave the company this week to assume a higher-ranking position as president and chief operating officer of HMA. Previously, the Plano, Texas-based hospital chain -- along with its anxious investors -- had been hoping to welcome the military officer back from a tour of duty in Iraq instead.

The company missed Whitman while he was away, says Fulcrum analyst Sheryl Skolnick. During his recent absence, she notes, Triad saw its operating metrics deteriorate and often failed to explain exactly what was going on. Without him, she suggests, the company will now struggle to regain the credibility it has already lost.

"It is our view that confidence in the remaining management of Triad has been shaken, and that one of the major factors keeping the stock price from further deterioration was the hope that 'Burke's back,'" Skolnick wrote on Thursday. "Well, he's back from Iraq -- but he's not at Triad."

Skolnick switched her ratings on Triad and HMA after hearing the latest news. She now has a sell rating on the first stock and a neutral rating on the second.

The stocks reacted accordingly. Triad tumbled 4.2% to $41.36, while HMA jumped 5.7% to $22.76 on the company's big catch.

Whitman's Waltz

Lehman Brothers analyst Adam Feinstein quickly embraced Whitman's move as a "major positive" for Naples, Fla.-based HMA.

For starters, Feinstein says, Whitman will be filling an important COO slot that has been left vacant at HMA for years. Moreover, he says, Whitman will be arriving after a particularly tough year for HMA and could bring some fresh ideas to the "conservatively managed" company. Finally, he adds, Whitman could ultimately go on to become the company's next CEO.