Boston Scientific says an $809 million writedown for its cardiac rhythm management unit pushed it into a loss for the 3rd quarter. Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) took a writedown for the 2nd consecutive quarter today, posting a 3rd-quarter loss and lowering its sales outlook for the rest of the year. Still, excluding 1-time items, the Natick, Mass.-based medical device company managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations by a penny. BSX logged a net loss of $725 million, or 52¢ per share, on sales of $1.74 billion for the 3 months ended Sept. 30. That represents a 7.4% top-line slide. Adjusted EPS were 16¢, just topping the 15¢ consensus on The Street. BSX shares were down 2.5% to $5.48 in pre-market trading this morning before opening at $5.50. Shares were trading at $5.38 as of about 10:20 a.m., down 4.4%.
