Why Valeant Pharmaceuticals Shares Are Backing Way Off

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 2:56AM EST · Published Feb 28, 11:05AM EST

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Why Valeant Pharmaceuticals Shares Are Backing Way Off — © Thinkstock

When Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) reported its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Wednesday, the company said that it had $0.98 in earnings per share (EPS) on $2.16 billion in revenue. That compares with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.97 per share and $2.18 billion. The fourth quarter of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.26 and $2.4 billion in revenue.

For 2017, Valeant recorded an income tax benefit of $4.145 billion, which was primarily attributed to an internal tax reorganization effort, which began in the fourth quarter of 2016 and was completed in the third quarter of 2017, as well as provisional benefits related to changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The company reported its segments for the quarter as follows:

Bausch + Lomb/International segment revenues were $1.226 billion, compared to $1.261 billion last year, a decrease of 3%.
Branded Rx segment revenues were $602 million, versus $744 million, a decrease of 19%. The Salix business grew revenue by 3% and generated organic growth of 5% year over year.
U.S. Diversified Products segment revenues were $335 million, compared to $398 million, a decrease of 16%.

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In terms of its restructuring, Valeant has completed 13 divestitures since the beginning of 2016, including skin care brands (CeraVe, AcneFree and AMBI), Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, iNova Pharmaceuticals, Obagi Medical Products and Sprout Pharmaceuticals.

Looking ahead to the 2018 full year, Valeant expects to see revenues between $8.10 billion and $8.30 billion and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $3.05 billion to $3.20 billion. The consensus estimates are $3.46 in EPS on $8.39 billion in revenue for the year.

Joseph C. Papa, Valeant’s board chair and chief executive, commented:

Since the end of the first quarter of 2016, we’ve reduced our total debt by more than 20 percent, and we will continue to address our debt, as well as reduce expenses. Additionally, we’re committed to growth through strategic investment in our core businesses, key products and late-stage pipeline. Altogether, these will get us to the final phase of our strategic plan – the transformation of Valeant.

Shares of Valeant were last seen down 11% at $16.40, with a consensus analyst price target of $17.22 and a 52-week range of $8.31 to $24.43.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.