WASHINGTON—Resignations of top officials at two biotechnology companies and predictions of lackluster earnings sent their stock prices tumbling last month.

Applied Biosystems Inc. announced that Sam Eletr, the company's founder and chairman, was stepping down for personal reasons. It also said it expected third-quarter earnings to decline because of product delays and weak orders from Europe.

Following that news, its stock dropped from $41.40 to $30 a share. The Foster City, Calif., firm, founded in 1981, has become the leading manufacturer of instruments and chemicals used in DNA synthesis.

Meanwhile, Endotronics Inc. announced that founders Eugene Gruenberg and his son, Michael, will leave their jobs as top officers amid investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The Minneapolis company also said that it expected "substantial losses" for fiscal 1987, and that it may run out of cash and credit by next month.

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