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Biotech / Medical : Cyberonics (cybx) epilepsy therapy recommonded -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: fred woodall who wrote (317)	5/13/1998 6:28:00 PM
From: fred woodall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 471

Now they tell us: Cyberonics Inc.'s shares sank 20% Wednesday as rumors circulated that the company was guiding analysts' earnings estimates downward, market sources said. Company officials have been making the comments during meetings this week with Wall Street analysts, sources said. Cyberonics, of Webster, Texas, makes an implantable nerve stimulator called the NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis System that treats some forms of epilepsy. The device enjoyed a strong initial sales launch after getting Food and Drug Administration approval last July. But since then, the company has found it harder than expected to penetrate the epilepsy market, where drug therapy remains a relatively cost-effective means of treating the condition, sources said. At the end of the first quarter, fewer than 130 hospitals and epilepsy centers had used the device. While market observers had been expecting that number to reach more than 150 by the end of the second quarter, the company is expected to fall short of that target, sources said. Company officials couldn't be reached for comment. Analysts who follow the company also weren't available. The mean estimate of two analysts surveyed by First Call was for a loss of five cents a share in the fourth fiscal quarter ending June 30, a loss of 64 cents for fiscal 1998 and earnings of 35 cents a share in fiscal 1999. The company reported a loss of 28 cents a share in the year-ago fourth quarter and a loss of 93 cents a share in fiscal 1997. Cyberonics' shares (CYBX) dropped $3.938 to end at $16.125 on volume of 2.3 million. Average volume is 410,300.