Thursday's Winners & Losers: Oracle

Oracle(ORCL Quote) fell $1.51, or 7.2%, to $19.43 after the company disappointed investors when its third-quarter earnings came up short of Wall Street expectations.

Oracle attributed the revenue shortfall to businesses that reacted to market turmoil by delaying the license renewal process for the company's products. Revenue during the quarter grew 21% to $5.35 billion but was lower than Street expectations of $5.42 billion. Net income grew 30% to $1.34 billion and EPS, excluding items, was 30 cents, in line with analysts' estimates.

Akeena Solar (AKNS Quote) soared 20.6% after the Los Gatos, Calif., maker of rooftop solar cells was mentioned in a Fortune article as a potential benficiary of Southern California Edison's plan to install solar panels on rooftops.

Shares of Sirius Satellite Radio(SIRI Quote) were down 19 cents, or 6.3%, to $2.83 as investors were concerned about the company's merger with its rival XM(XMSR Quote) despite the recent Department of Justice's approval for the deal. Shares of XM shed $1.04, or 8.1%, to $11.85.

Faring far worse on clinical news was small-cap SGX Pharmaceuticals(SGXP Quote). The stock plummeted after the company said it saw dose-limiting toxicity earlier than expected in two early-stage cancer drug studies. Shares fell $2.32, or 58%, to $1.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals(VRTX Quote) was among the winners, climbing nearly 9% after the drugmaker disclosed positive interim data for a small midstage study on an investigational drug for cystic fibrosis.

The company said the results indicated a significant increase in lung function, and it will continue with its phase II trial. Shares added $1.57, or 8.8%, to $19.

Huron Consulting (HURN Quote), a Chicago firm, lost 30.5% to $40.63, hitting new lows. The company announced that for the first quarter it expects revenue to range from $138 million to $140 million, down from a previous estimate of $142 million to $147 million. It also sees earnings per share between 50 cents and 57 cents, down from 66 cents to 70 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial are looking for EPS of 67 cents on revenue of $145 million.