Vetr downgraded Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $279.50 target price on the stock.in a research note on Monday, August 17th.
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Since then, Valeant in particular has found itself under the microscope of short-sellers at Citron Research, who detailed the price increases for dozens of Valeant drugs since they were purchased by the company’s. Most of the requested materials relate to the company’s pricing decisions, as well as its patient assistance and financial support programs, it said.
Now, though, Valeant says it has responded to a letter from Senator Clair McCaskill (D-MO) addressing, among other topics, the reasoning behind its pricing decisions for the duo and the reimbursement process for hospital procedures involving the heart meds.
But even before the pricing controversy, Valeant had been viewed as a controversial company in its own right given its core strategy of buying companies for their drug assets while shedding things like salespeople and research & development activities. Valeant said in a statement: “The company is reviewing the subpoenas and intends to cooperate with the investigations”.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. McCaskill that it spent $544 million in 2014 to help patients cover the out-of-pockets costs levied by private insurers, and would spend $630 million in 2015.
The company’s drug pricing has drawn scrutiny from doctors, hospitals and Democrats in Congress after The Wall Street Journal reported in April about how it and a few other companies buy and then significantly raise the prices of drugs.
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The company, which came under attack from Democratic lawmakers in late September over “massive” price increases, said it was reviewing subpoenas from the offices of attorneys for the District of Massachusetts and the Southern District of New York. They are often buried in a company’s filings. One potential outcome is for VRX to settle the claims (for a fraction of the amount) within 2 to 3 years. Finally, Canaccord Genuity restated a buy rating on shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. The U.S. AG in Boston has also been very active in going after pharmaceutical companies for a variety of things in the past. Medicare and Medicaid are only 15% of VRX’s sales.
