Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) Friday reported lower earnings for Q3 ended September 30 due primarily to investments in health care exchanges and state-based contracts and higher specialty prescription drug costs associated with a new treatment for Hepatitis C. The healthcare company's revenues also came in weaker than Street view. Net earnings were $290 million, or $1.85 per diluted share, down from net earnings of $368 million, or $2.31 per diluted share, a year earlier and came in below the Capital IQ consensus of $2. Total revenues, however, rose to $12.24 billion from last year's $10.32 billion but didn't reach as high as the Street's call of $12.57 billion provided by Capital IQ. The year-over-year increase in total revenues was driven by an 18.7% jump in total premiums and services revenue.Given these results, Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) tightened its fiscal year 2014 guidance range for adjusted EPS to $7.40 to $7.60 from the previous $7.25 to $7.75 to reflect expected reductions in volatility of earnings for fiscal year 2014. For fiscal year 2015, it expects EPS to be in the range of $8.50 to $9.00, reflecting "strong growth and operating efficiencies in the company's Medicare offerings, break-even results in its HumanaOne business, and reduced investment spending in state-based contracts."Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX) fell to a 20-month low in the wake of disappointing Q3 earnings, and a downgrade at Evercore Partners to Hold from Buy. The firm also lowered its price target to $12.50 from $18.50. According to the analyst's note, the miss in both earnings and revenues as well as "underwhelming" bookings of $223 million encouraged the firm to lower its outlook on the stock and target price by $6.Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX) reported reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.06 per share, up from $0.05 per share in Q3 2013 but came in lower than the $0.10 Street estimate provided by Capital IQ. Total revenue was $345.4 million, up 3.4% from $334 million reported for the same quarter last year but fell short of the $353 million Street estimate. Shares of MDRX are nearly 16% lower at $11.38 with a new 52-week range of $11.00 to $19.68.Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) shares were down about 12% Friday after the clothing company reported preliminary Q3 results of $0.40 to $0.42 per share, well below the $0.69-per-share Street view, according to Capital IQ estimates. Sales were down to $911.3 million for the quarter, below expectations of $983 million. Total comparable sales, including direct-to-consumer sales, decreased 10% with comparable U.S. sales decreasing 7% and comparable international sales decreasing 15%. Total direct-to-consumer comparable sales increased 8%.Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) sales during the quarter were below expectations with comparable sales in September and October being significantly weaker than August. Although the international stores segment was the most difficult, the lower sales trend was broadly based. In addition, the company now expects modest gross margin rate erosion for the quarter compared to last year, given the highly promotional and challenging environment. The effect of lower sales and gross margins will be partially offset by continued significant expense reductions. The company's results for the quarter were also adversely impacted by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. ANF trades in a 52-week range of $31.01 to $45.50.
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