Apria Healthcare Stock Falls in Heavy Trading

Shares of Apria Healthcare Group Inc. fell 18% Wednesday, and the New York Stock Exchange contacted Costa Mesa home health care services company regarding unusual market activity of the company’s stock.

The company’s stock lost $2.38, closing at $11 a share, and had reached a 52-week low of $10.50 a share during the trading day. A year ago, the stock was fetching more than $22 a share.

More than 1.5 million shares traded hands, about five times the average daily volume over the last three months, and that prompted the stock exchange to call on the company to issue a public statement about the trading. The company, however, said that its policy is not to comment on unusual market activity.

Investors were selling the stock because of uncertainties about Medicare policies on reimbursements for the drug Albuterol sulfate, used to treat asthma and other breathing disorders, said Analyst Todd Richter at Banc of America Securities LLC.

Richter said home-delivered respiratory medication is a significant business for both Apria and Lincare Holdings Inc. in Clearwater, Fla. Lincare’s shares also closed lower Wednesday, down 50 cents to close at $29.88 a share.

It will be a few weeks before the new Medicare guidelines come out, the analyst said.