Wednesday's Winners & Losers: Air Transport

A first-quarter loss at Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International(SMI Quote) Tuesday helped to drag down semiconductors. SMI fell 24 cents, or 6.5%, to $3.48 Wednesday after climbing 10.7% the day before. The company took a loss of $119 million, vs. a profit of $8.8 million for the same quarter of 2007. It said it will exit the market for dynamic RAM chips.

Shares of Air Transport (ATSG Quote) plummeted to new lows, lately losing 43% to $1.68. The Wilmington, Ohio, provider of air cargo transportation said DHL is planning to remove from its network 39 of the 55 DC-9s provided by Air Transport's subsidiary ABX Air.

On the winning side, Akeena Solar (AKNS Quote), a Los Gatos, Calif.-based maker of solar power systems, jumped 15% to $6.77. Kaufman Brothers initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating.

Another alternative energy stock, American Superconductor(AMSC Quote) rose $2.26, or 7.2%, to $33.80 after Kaufman Brothers gave it a one-year price target of $37, according to Briefing.com.

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND Quote) fell $1.92, or 36%, to $2.30 after the Food and Drug Administration posted a review prefacing an advisory panel noted that the company and partner GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK Quote) blood-clotting disorder drug Promacta hadn't shown enough efficacy to merit approval. The review bit into Ligand, but Glaxo mostly hugged the flatline.

Meanwhile, the FDA sent The Medicines Co. (MDCO Quote) a "non-approvable" letter for expanded use of its blood thinner Angiomax to include acute coronary syndromes in emergency rooms. The FDA indicated that the basis of its decision regarded the appropriate use and interpretation of non-inferiority trials, including ACUITY, the primary basis of the company's filing.

The Medicines Co reaffirmed its sales expectations for the drug and said it disagrees with the FDA and has begun discussions with the agency on the matter. Shares fell $1.47, or 7.4%, to $18.47.