Sepracor, Inc. (SEPR)

[surf1944]

Sepracor Cuts 2008 Earnings Guidance
Friday February 29, 8:50 am ET
Sepracor Sees Full-Year Earnings Between $1.40 and $1.80 Per Share

continue to stay away, insiders/funds seem to still be sellers, SEPR may be heading to $10

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Sepracor Inc., a research-based pharmaceutical company, on Friday cut its full-year 2008 earnings outlook.

Sepracor projected full-year 2008 earnings per share of $1.40 to $1.80, on revenue of $1.35 billion to $1.45 billion. In October, the company forecast earnings per share between $2.35 and $2.45. The company said Friday it plans to restate its financial statements back to 2005 to reduce the amount of product revenue earned, due to government pricing.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, estimate 2008 earnings of $2.30 per share on revenue of $1.34 billion.

In a note to investors, Citi Investment Research analyst Andrew Swanson said, "2008 guidance (is) not as bad as it look." Swanson noted the sales outlook beat his estimates of $1.32 billion and said a decline in sales and marketing spending implied a big cut in direct-to-consumer spending.

He said the earnings-per-share outlook is based on research and development spending that could exceed $300 million, based on the midpoint. He had forecast spending closer to $200 million, a difference that amounts to about $1 per share.

Sepracor shares fell $1.34, or 5.9 percent, to $21.50 in premarket trading. They closed at $22.84 on Thursday.