Health-care Stocks: AmerisourceBergen shares fall on rating dip

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) � Shares of AmerisourceBergen Corp. tumbled by nearly 4% Monday after the drug distribution giant�s chief financial officer resigned, prompting at least one analyst to downgrade the company�s shares.

AmerisourceBergen ABC �dropped $1.39 to $37.21 at the close after Michael D. DiCandilo left unexpectedly to �pursue other interests,� according to a company press release.

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DiCandilo left after 21 years with the company and the last 10 as its CFO. Tim G. Guttman will now serve as acting CFO; he has been vice president and corporate controller since 2002. Read more about the CFO�s departure.

The news prompted Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Eric W. Coldwell to downgrade AmerisourceBergen shares to neutral from outperform.

�We weren�t expecting this transition, and it comes on the heels of [AmerisourceBergen�s] first quarterly [earnings-per-share] miss in over four years,� Coldwell wrote in a note to clients. Coldwell put adjusted earnings for the company�s first fiscal quarter, which ended in December, at 62 cents a share, a penny below estimates.

Coldwell also noted the CFO change comes after Chief Executive R. David Yost retired in July and was replaced by Steven H. Collis.

�CFO leadership transition follows change at CEO position last July, and other headwinds; we�re moving to sidelines,� Coldwell wrote.

The company also reaffirmed its own fiscal 2012 forecast of earnings between $2.74 and $2.84 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expect earnings of $2.81 a share.

The share drop kept AmerisourceBergen from taking part in a broader market rally, which extended to most parts of the health sector. The Chesterbrook, Pa.-based company�s two main rivals, McKesson Corp. MCK �and Cardinal Health Inc. CAH �each posted gains � McKesson up slightly to $81.80 and Cardinal climbing 1.2% to $42.40.