Wednesday's Health Winners & Losers

Earnings bumped a few health stocks, such as Barr Pharmaceuticals(BRL Quote), into the green Wednesday.

Barr got a 4.1% bump from an earnings beat. The generic-drug specialist earned 84 cents a share excluding items, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had predicted 71 cents a share. Subsequently, the stock gained $2.17, to $55.

Also, Somaxon Pharmaceuticals(SOMX Quote) gained $1.70, or 16.5%, to $12. Post-close Tuesday, Somaxon reported a second-quarter loss of $6 million, or 33 cents a share, narrowed from $14.7 million, or 82 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Medicis Pharmaceutical(MRX Quote), which develops and markets dermatological and aesthetics products, reported earnings and an upbeat outlook for the markets in which it competes. Medicis raised its guidance to $1.19 a share from its previous prediction of $1.12. The company's stock added 85 cents, or 3%, to $29 on Wednesday.

On the other hand, device maker NMT Medical(NMTI Quote) suffered an analyst downgrade Wednesday after reporting earnings earlier in the week. Needham & Co lowered its rating for NMT Medical to hold from buy. For the quarter, the company reported a loss of $2.6 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.9 million, or 15 cents a share, in the 2006 period. For the third quarter, NMT expects revenue of $6.6 million, vs. $6.9 million last year. Its shares fell $1.01, or 9.4%, to $9.70.