Waters Shares Sink 21 Percent After Company Cuts Q1 Earnings Projections

NEW YORK, March 30 (GenomeWeb News) - Shares in Waters today tumbled 21 percent, or $9.71, at $36.55 in mid-afternoon trading one day after the company said it would revise its projected first quarter earnings from $.44 to between $.34 and $.37 per diluted share.

In a  statement, Waters said that the lowered earnings were the result of "weaker than expected sales growth." The firm had anticipated a 13 to 14 percent increase in sales during a conference call with investors in January, but revised that projection to a 3 to 4 percent increase yesterday.