(Adds analyst comments)

By Jennifer Robin Raj

BANGALORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Shares of Omnicell Inc (OMCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), a provider of patient-safety software and products, fell almost 40 percent on Wednesday, a day after the company forecast 2009 earnings that were less than half of analysts' average estimates.

"We are not altogether surprised by the change in Omnicell's 2009 outlook in light of recent cautious commentary from Cardinal Health (CAH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and others. However, the magnitude certainly caught us by surprise," said ThinkEquity analyst Glenn Garmont.

Shares of Omnicell fell to their lowest levels since 2005 to touch a low of $6.25. They pared some of their loses and were trading down $3.25 at $7.05 in morning trade.

The company reaffirmed its 2008 outlook but expects year-end backlog of $110 million, about 20 percent less than last year.

"Omnicell's solutions are at the cutting edge of medication management, but the sales cycle has slowed down to a crawl and the result is a dwindling backlog that does not appear to have relief in sight," said BB&T Capital Markets analyst K. Newton Juhng.

"We are skeptical of an expeditious turnaround in hospital capital spending," Juhng added and cut the rating on the stock to "underweight" from "buy".

Omnicell said some customers have postponed orders with the slowdown and order volume in the fourth quarter was substantially less than expected, especially in December.

The company, which anticipates some cost-cutting measures this year, expects to earn 30 cents to 35 cents a share, excluding stock compensation expense, in 2009 and post revenue of $200 million to $210 million. [ID:nWNAB1477]

Analysts on average expected the company to earn 82 cents a share on revenue of $275 million, according to Reuters Estimates. (Editing by Anil D'Silva)