Boston's Forecast Comes Up Short

Updated from 10:10 a.m. EDT

Reduced stent sales led Boston Scientific (BSX Quote) to report weaker third-quarter numbers than Wall Street expected, and the medical-devices maker cautioned that consensus estimates for the rest of the year also appear to be too high.

Boston Scientific lost $269 million, or 33 cents a share, in the third quarter, including charges of $616 million. The bulk of the charges, $598 million, stemmed from a settlement with Israeli company Medinol, which had alleged that Boston's Express and Taxus Express stents infringed its patents.

Overall the Natick, Mass., company had revenue of $1.51 billion, compared with $1.48 billion a year ago. "Obviously a flattish result for the quarter," said CFO Larry Best during the company's conference call Friday. "Not exactly what we expected." ...