Rite Aid (RAD: sentiment, chart, options) warned the Street this morning that it will record a non-cash accounting charge of $800 million to $1 billion during the fourth quarter. The charge stems from the accounting treatment of its deferred tax assets. As a result of the expense, Rite Aid expects that its fourth-quarter loss will be widened by $1.11 to $1.38 per share for the quarter. Analysts were expecting RAD to report a quarterly loss of just 8 cents per share for the period.

Rite Aid did reassure investors that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are still expected to range from $950 million to $1 billion. The drugstore chain is slated to take its turn in the earnings spotlight on April 10.

As we head into the afternoon, RAD is fractionally lower and the stock has breached the recently supportive $2.40 level. Wall Street's reaction to the warning has been somewhat tepid, with RAD perhaps being overshadowed by the gloomy news from Bear Stearns (BSC) this morning. Plus, analysts are already quite bearish on Rite Aid. Zacks reports that the stock has garnered just 2 "strong buy" ratings from brokers, compared to 3 "holds," 1 "sell," and 2 "strong sells."