PDL's downside surprise

The Street punished PDL BioPharma Inc. for creating new uncertainty last week when the company ended development of its lead compound and withdrew its FY07 financial guidance.

The company did tie up some loose ends, ceding to activist shareholder demands to restructure and sell off its commercial operations. But lopping off its lone late-stage program came as a surprise. PDLI (Fremont, Calif.) took a 22% haircut the day after the post-market news was announced, falling to $5.07 from $23.27 on Wednesday. The shares finished down $4.30 (18%) to $19.51 on the week...