Today's Health Winners and Losers
Shares of
King Pharmaceuticals
were among the worst-performing health-related stocks Thursday, falling 8% after the drugmaker laid out plans to sell some $400 million of convertible senior notes due 2026.
King said that it would also grant purchasers an over-allotment option to buy an additional $60 million of notes. King plans to use proceeds from the offering to repurchase or redeem its 2021 convertible debentures, which have $345 million outstanding, and for general corporate needs. Shares were trading down $1.47 to $17.56.
Biovail
rose 3% after the drugmaker posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued 2006 guidance that came in ahead of expectations. The company earned $119.7 million, or 75 cents a share, on revenue of $287.6 million. Results included a write-down of $2.7 million, or 2 cents a share. Analysts expected earnings of 74 cents a share and revenue of $265.7 million. During the year-earlier quarter, the company earned $46 million, or 29 cents a share, on revenue of $275.4 million.
Looking ahead, Biovail sees 2006 earnings of $2.30 to $2.40 a share, including 10 cents a share in stock-based compensation costs. The company predicts revenue of $990 million to $1.07 billion. Analysts project earnings of $2.12 a share, with revenue of $946.8 million. Shares were up 79 cents to $26.55.
Shares of
Taro Pharmaceutical Industries
(TARO) - Get Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Report
rose 1% after the Food and Drug Administration tentatively approved the drugmaker's terbinafine cream. The cream, which is the generic version of
Novartis'
(NVS) - Get Novartis AG Report
Lamisil cream, is used to cure athlete's foot, jock itch and ringworm. Shares were trading up 15 cents to $13.69.
CombinatoRx
fell 2% after the biopharmaceutical company announced a $48 million private placement. The company agreed to sell 4.68 million shares of stock for $10.25 apiece, which represents a discount of roughly 8% to Wednesday's closing price of $11.10. The transaction is expected to close on or about March 24. Shares traded at $10.93, down 17 cents.
TheStreet Recommends
Shares of
Ciphergen Biosystems
fell 6% after the company announced the resignation of its chief financial officer. The company said Matthew Hogan will now serve as a consultant to the company for up to six months. Hogan will continue to receive his current rate of pay while serving as a consultant, the company said. Daniel Caserza, meanwhile, will serve as interim CFO until the company finds a full-time replacement. The company, which announced the resignation in a
Securities and Exchange Commission
filing, did not offer a reason for Hogan's resignation. Shares were trading down 11 cents to $1.64.
Other health care volume movers included
Generex Biotech
(GNBT)
, up 28 cents to $3.50;
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Pfizer Inc. Report
, down 27 cents to $26.13;
Bristol-Myers Squibb
(BMY) - Get Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Report
, up 26 cents to $25.50;
Boston Scientific
(BSX) - Get Boston Scientific Corporation Report
, up 10 cents to $23.57;
Novavax
(NVAX) - Get Novavax, Inc. Report
, down 26 cents to $7.25;
Elan
(ELN)
, down 9 cents to $13.71;
Nabi Pharmaceuticals
(NABI)
, down 21 cents to $5.35;
ViroPharma
(VPHM)
, unchanged at $10.88;
Johnson & Johnson
(JNJ) - Get Johnson & Johnson Report
, down 30 cents to $60.70;
Amgen
(AMGN) - Get Amgen Inc. Report
, down 4 cents to $72.39;
Merck
(MRK) - Get Merck & Co., Inc. Report
, up 2 cents to $36.25; and
Schering-Plough
, down 8 cents to $19.27.
