Several More Analysts Came Out On Valeant Today

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE: VRX) continued its downturn on Wednesday after the company released fourth quarter results with 2016 guidance revision that was far below expectations.

Several more analysts put out their comments.

Nomura's Shibani Malhotra downgraded Valeant to Neutral from Buy, while slashing the price target from $175 to $60. She commented, "We have lost conviction in Valeant."

Morgan Stanley cut its price target to $39 from $98 in the wake of lower projections, leadership questions, and 10K uncertainty. The brokerage maintained its Equal-Weight rating.

Morgan Stanley also warned that there is risk that key employees could depart since CEO Pearson mentioned on the call "[VRX] just paid bonuses for the year on Friday" and stock awards are way out of the money.

Related Link: Has Valeant Found Long-Term Technical Support?

Stifel said, "The significantly tempered outlook was in sharp contrast with any tangible metrics we had (likely due to significant concessions made to payers to improve its standing), and prospects for its growth potential are still murky at best.

"Clouding the issue still are the outstanding internal/external audits and 10-K filing, covenants, and debt load relative to growth and cash flow uncertainties. Though we are in the midst of a "crisis of confidence" and uncertainty could yield more downside in the near-term, the company is still left with strategic value. We put this break-up value at $65," Stifel added.

Stifel has a Buy rating on shares, but slashed the price target to $65 from $200.

Rodman & Renshaw, which has a Buy rating, also trimmed its price target to $118.00 from $150.00 on lower guidance. However, the brokerage believes that the company can continue to: a) deliver sufficient cash flow generation to meet its debt obligations; b) achieve top-line growth again through organic sales volume increases; and c) manage its relationships with reimbursement agencies successfully in a shifting drug pricing environment.

"We anticipate that the firm should be in a position to file its 10-K by April of this year, and that its creditors would not invoke the cross-default clauses in Valeant's debt agreements," analyst Raghuram Selvaraju wrote in a note.