Elan falls on 3Q projections

ELN was off $0.88 (46%) to $1.05 on 21.4 million shares on Tuesday after the company announced Monday post-market that it expects third quarter sales of $200 million - $175 million less than the $375 million it posted in the second quarter - due largely to generic competition for its Zanaflex muscle spasticity drug (see BioCentury Extra, Monday Sept. 30, 2002). The company also said it expects to incur a $142 million cash charge in the third quarter related to the sale of assets by certain ELN affiliates; take a non-cash charge of up to $400 million to account for the write-down of certain investments held by affiliates; and have $600 million in cash as of Sept. 30. ...