Health Stocks in Motion

Shares of Dendrite(DRTE Quote) were among the worst-performing health-related stocks Friday, slumping 22% after the provider of software and services to the pharmaceutical industry warned that fourth-quarter results would fall well short of Wall Street forecasts.

Dendrite sees adjusted earnings, which excludes items, of break-even to 6 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected a much larger profit of 28 cents a share. The company projected sales of $106 million to $108 million, below Wall Street's expectation of $118.7 million. The company said several transactions that were expected to close during the quarter either won't close during the quarter, or will close too late to generate revenue. Dendrite said currency fluctuations also are hurting revenue expectations. Shares were trading down $3.84 to $13.80.

Hi-Tech Pharmacal(HITK Quote) rose 3% after the company announced a 3-for-2 stock split. Shareholders of record on Dec. 30 will receive one additional share for every two shares they hold on Jan. 11. The stock split announcement comes a day after the company posted better-than-expected second-quarter results, sending shares up 9%. Shares recently were up $1.21 to $43.22.

Shares of Eli Lilly(LLY Quote) rose 3% after the drug maker projected 2005 and 2006 earnings above Wall Street forecasts. The company sees 2005 adjusted earnings at the top end of its guidance range of $2.80 to $2.86 a share. Analysts predict earnings of $2.83 a share. Lilly now expects fourth-quarter earnings at the high end of its guidance range of 73 cents to 79 cents a share, which compares with analysts' forecast of 76 cents a share.

As for 2006, the company sees earnings of $3.10 to $3.20 a share, above the $3.08 a share that analysts had forecast. "Given our products, pipeline and the fact that we expect no major patent expirations for the rest of this decade, Lilly is uniquely positioned to deliver sustained earnings growth," the company said. Shares were trading up $1.88 to $54.09.