Cramer: Valeant Is A 'Great Mystery'

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE: VRX) were trading up more than 10 percent on Monday afternoon, after the company announced that CEO J. Michael Pearson was leaving, and that billionaire activist Bill Ackman had been appointed as a board director. The company also said it would publish a revised statement of its financial results, aimed, in part, at correcting former CFO Howard Schiller’s alleged “improper conduct.”

Following the news avalanche, CNBC’s Jim Cramer shared his opinion about the company. On Monday, the analyst exclaimed that all the issues surrounding Valeant had transformed it into a “great mystery.”

Related Link: Valeant Announces CEO Succession Plans And Financial Update; Bil Ackman Joins Board

“This is not some minor company… and it’s taking a lot of people down with it as numbers keep getting sliced. But no one knows the numbers,” he said. However, the company does not seem corrupt, he added, “it just seems to be a clown show.”

In fact, Cramer attributed the situation to a “lack of corporate governance,” and declared he does not believe the company is making up the numbers. “I think this is more of a soap opera than it is a company… The whole thing to me seems unstable,” he continued. “There should be a monitor from the federal government in that company right now,” he concluded.

Finally, talking about Ackman’s appointment to the board, Cramer commented, "Ackman joining the board is a sign that he can't dump his stock.”

Even after the 10 percent run-up seen on Monday, shares of Valeant are down more than 71 percent year-to-date.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.

Image Credit: By Tulane Public Relations (Mad MoneyUploaded by AlbertHerring) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons