Health Stocks in Motion

Shares of Noven Pharmaceuticals(NOVN Quote) were among the best-performing health-related stocks Monday, soaring 35% after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel unanimously voted to back the company's skin patch for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The committee said Noven's Daytrana patch is effective in treating ADHD and appears safe, but the panel recommended that the product only be used after patients have tried oral drugs first. The patch, which is designed for children aged 6 to 12, contains methylphenidate, which is the active ingredient in Novartis'(NVS Quote) Ritalin drug. "We are pleased that the committee's vote was supportive of the efficacy and safety of the product," Noven said. "We look forward to the FDA's final decision on the approvability of the amended NDA." Though the FDA doesn't have to follow the recommendations of its committees, it usually does. Shares of Noven recently were trading up $3.91 to $15.08.

Guidant(GDT Quote) jumped 9% after Boston Scientific(BSX Quote) offered to buy the medical device maker for $25 billion, more than $3 billion over what Johnson & Johnson(JNJ Quote) agreed to pay for the company last month. Boston Scientific's unsolicited offer would pay Guidant shareholders about $72 a share in cash and stock, compared with Johnson & Johnson's recently reduced offer of $63.08 a share. Guidant said its board will consider Boston Scientific's proposal. Shares of Guidant were trading up $5.48 to $67.30; Johnson & Johnson was down 17 cents to $61.04; and Boston Scientific fell 52 cents to $26.81.

Shares of LanVision Systems(LANV Quote) tumbled 20% after the company, which provides software used by medical professionals, posted disappointing third-quarter results. The company, which does business as Streamline Health, said its loss widened to $454,000, or 5 cents a share, from $156,000, or 2 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales, meanwhile, rose to $3.2 million from $2.5 million a year ago. "The results for the third quarter were below management's revenue expectations but in line with our year to date operating loss expectations," the company said. "The revenue shortfall occurred primarily because negotiations on a large software licensing agreement in which we were selected as vendor of choice was not completed as anticipated during the third quarter and carried over into our fourth quarter." LanVision shares were trading down $1.01 to $4.09.