Profit warning pummels Lunar's stock

Shares of bone densitometry vendor Lunar plunged on Sept. 22 after the Madison, WI, company announced that it expected to post flat revenues and lower profits for its first fiscal quarter (end-September). The results were due to lower-than-expected densitometry sales in Japan and in the U.S., where many physicians have been confused about proposed reductions in the Medicare reimbursement rate for bone densitometry, according to the company. Lunar's stock dropped $4.56 a share, or 19%, to close at $19.44 on Sept. 22, the first day of trading after the news was announced.

In other Lunar news, the company in early September began shipping Pixi, its compact dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) densitometer. Pixi is targeted at the physician-office market and carries a list price of $32,000. Lunar shipped the first Pixi unit to a physician in the Washington, DC, area, according to the company.