Stocks in Motion: Albertson's

Shares of Forward Industries (FORD) were among Nasdaq's losers Friday, tumbling 26% after the company cut its revenue forecast amid order-timing issues.

Forward, which makes carrying cases for cell phones and medical equipment, said it expects revenue of $8.3 million to $8.7 million for the first quarter ending Dec. 31. In November, the company predicted revenue of at least $8.9 million. Forward attributed the shortfall to the timing of orders that it now expects to ship in the fiscal second quarter. The company anticipates earnings of 8 cents to 12 cents a share -- down from 21 cents a year earlier. Forward shares were trading at $10.82, down $3.90.

Albertson's (ABS) shares dropped 12% after the grocery store operator terminated talks for a potential sale of the company. Albertson's, which put itself on the selling block earlier this year, said it still will consider discussions for the sale of its underperforming assets. CVS (CVS) had been in talks to acquire the company, and other potential acquirers reportedly included Supervalu(SVU), Kimco (KIM) and hedge fund Cerberus Partners. Albertson's shares were down $2.78 to $20.50.

Staar Surgical (STAA) shares soared after the company received Food and Drug Administration approval to market an implantable lens for nearsightedness in adults. The company expects to begin shipments of the product, the Myopic Visian ICL, within six weeks. Staar Surgical shares gained $1.77, or 31%, to $7.54.

Shares of Willbros (WG) fell 9% after the oil-field services contractor announced a private placement of about $65 million of convertible senior notes. Willbros also granted the investors a 90-day option to purchase up to an additional $19.5 million aggregate principal amount of the notes. The company plans to use the proceeds to retire debt and provide liquidity. Shares fell $1.45 to $14.51.

Patterson-UTI(PTEN) announced plans to restate its financial results for fiscal years 2002 through 2004, as well as the first three quarter of 2005, as a result of a previously announced embezzlement investigation related to its former chief financial officer. The oil driller estimates that the embezzlement totaled about $78 million over a period from 1998 to the fourth quarter of this year, and anticipates that net income for the period will be cut by $42 million to $571 million. Patterson-UTI shares were down 75 cents to $33.49.