Thursday's Winners & Losers: Lithia Motors

Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion(RIMM Quote) soared $9.29, or 9.5%, to $107.20 after the company boosted its subscriber growth estimates for the fourth quarter. RIM said it expects subscriber additions to be 15% to 20% higher than its earlier forecast because of the popularity of its phones during the holiday season. In December, RIM had forecast quarterly net subscriber growth to reach 1.82 million users.

Vasco Data Security(VDSI Quote) lost $6.82, or 37.3%. to $11.45 after the company missed Street estimates and was downgraded by an analyst at Brean Murray. Vasco reported fourth-quarter earnings of 9 cents a share, lower than Street expectations of 20 cents a share. Revenue rose 23.9% to $31.2 million, again lower than consensus of $36.6 million. Vasco forecast revenue growth of 25% to 35% for fiscal 2008 and margins of 60% to 68% for the year. Following the results, Brean Murray cut its rating on the stock to hold from buy.

Lithia Motors (LAD Quote) also took a plunge, down 28% to $10.50. Last night, the Medford, Ore.-based purveyor of autos and auto parts said it swung to a pro forma loss of $5.1 million, or 26 cents a share, missing the average analyst prediction for a per-share profit of 27 cents. In the year-ago quarter, Lithia netted income of $5.5 million, or 27 cents a share. For 2008, the company guided for EPS between $1 and $1.30. Wall Street is looking for $1.68.

On the rise, HLTH Corp. (HLTH Quote), an Elmwood Park, N.J., health information company, saw shares jump 20% to $12.10 on fourth-quarter earnings and a merger agreement. The company posted income before interest, taxes, non-cash and other items of $40.3 million, or 17 cents a share, on revenue of $145.8 million. HLTH also announced it will merge into its 84% owned subsidiary, WebMD (WBMD Quote). Per the deal, each HLTH share will be worth 0.1979 shares of WebMD and $6.89 in cash, subject to adjustment.

Private banking and investment management firm Boston Private Financial Holdings(BPFH Quote) was down 26.4% on the announcement that its affiliate, First Private Bank & Trust, increased its loan-loss reserves between $16 million and $19 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. The increased reserves are due to potential losses in First Private's portfolio of residential construction and land loans in Southern California, The increased provision is expected to cut the company's earnings by between 27 cents and 31 cents per share.

Good news also didn't prevent First Mercury Financial(FMR Quote) from falling 12.5% to $17.56. The company was downgraded by Ferris Watts from a buy to a neutral today, even though the property and casualty insurer more than doubled its fourth-quarter profit to $10.2 million, as it reported after Wednesday's close.