Analyst’s Comments Jolt Pacific Scientific Stock

Shares of Pacific Scientific fell 11% to $19.63 Tuesday after an analyst’s disparaging comments about the Newport Beach company’s Solium light bulbs.

David Eidelman of Eidelman Finger & Co. in St. Louis sees the stock hitting $15 in six to 12 months. Trading volume Tuesday was 305,000 shares, compared with a recent daily average of 66,000 shares.

Eidelman, who is selling the stock short, said Pacific Scientific’s new light bulb, which is expected to come out in August, could be hurt by soft demand and start-up difficulties.

“It sounds on the surface like it’s great, like everybody would immediately go out and replace their products with them,” Eidelman said in an interview with the CNBC network.

Eidelman said the problem is that Solium’s distinguishing feature--it can be dimmed--isn’t a desired quality in fluorescent bulbs. Most compact fluorescent light bulbs cannot be dimmed in a conventional light socket without risking overheating and fire.

“The people we talk to feel dimming is very important,” Richard V. Plat, Pacific Scientific executive vice president said. “We continue to be optimistic about our product in that area.”