Wednesday's Winners & Losers: Riverbed Technology

Shares of Acorda Therapeutics(ACOR) dipped 9.9% to $23.73. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said research and development expenses increased by roughly $4 million over the last sequential quarter, and are expected to continue to increase in 2008, primarily due to an increase in spending on the Fampridine-SR clinical and preclinical programs.

Acorda said net loss was about $14 million for its fourth quarter and about $38 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, and expects its net loss in 2008 to increase, given its anticipated increase in expenses.

Riverbed Technology(RVBD) fell $2.59, or 11.7%, to $19.55 following its fourth-quarter results and guidance.

An analyst at Needham & Co downgraded the stock to hold from buy on the company's mixed guidance and concerns that EPS growth may be "muted."

Riverbed earned $4.8 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.4 million, or a loss of 4 cents a share the year before. Excluding charges, it reported EPS of 20 cents a share, a penny better than analysts' estimates.

Revenue rose to $76.3 million from $33.8 million a year ago and beat analysts' expectations of $71.1 million. For the current fiscal year, though, it projected revenue of $370 million to $380 million, with EPS in the range of 70 cents to 75 cents. Analysts were expecting revenue of $350.47 million and EPS of 74 cents.

Elsewhere, specialty pharmaceutical company Alpharma(ALO) said Wednesday that it will sell its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) business to certain investment funds managed by 3i for $395 million in cash, with expected net proceeds of $365 million. API, which develops and markets pharmaceutical ingredients used by third parties, saw net sales of $138.7 million and operating income of $30.7 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30.

The company, which expects the deal will close in the second quarter, saw shares tack on 7.4% to $24.49.

Shares of CNET Networks(CNET) lost 47 cents, or 5.7%, to $7.82 after the company reported an increase in fourth-quarter net income but a weak outlook.

Net income in the fourth quarter rose to $202.6 million, or $1.33 a share, from $5.3 million, or 3 cents a share, the year before. Adjusted for charges, net income was $22.7 million, or 15 cents a share compared with $17.9 million, or 12 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose 11% to $125.5 million from a year ago.

Analysts were expecting EPS of $1.29 a share on revenue of $122.6 million.

For the current quarter, CNET guided revenue in the range of $91 million and $95 million and a loss between 4 cents and 5 cents a share. Analysts are expecting revenue of $98.71 million and a loss of a penny a share.

Orckit Communications (ORCT), a maker of telecom equipment based in Tel Aviv, Israel, jumped 16.2% to $7.89 after announcing its Corrigent Systems unit had landed a contract with Media Broadcast to supply network infrastructure components for Deutsche Telekom. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, shares of Irvine, Calif.'s Quality Systems (QSII), which creates health-care information systems, screamed ahead 12.7% to $33.92 on earnings for the third quarter of its fiscal 2008. After the close Tuesday, the company announced a 29% year-over-year increase in profit to $11.2 million, or 40 cents a share, beating the average analyst expectation of 36 cents a share.

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