Valeant Jumps 15% – Seals Deal to Slash Drug Prices at Walgreens

Walgreens, the retail pharmacy division of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., “has a lot of credibility and muscle”, said Nomura analyst Shibani Malhotra, making the deal “very important for Valeant”.

Valeant said its expecting that the agreements, when implemented fully, to save the healthcare system as much as $600 million annually and allow consumers to access its different products easily from over 8,999 locations of Walgreen across the USA, as well as participating retailers that are independent. The 20-year partnership calls for Valeant Pharmaceuticals to give Walgreens a 10% discount off its branded prescription-based dermatological and ophthalmological products as well as Valeant’s over-the-counter product portfolio.

Investors welcomed the Walgreens deal and price reductions, driving Valeant shares up 5% in pre-market trading to $99.30. The stock had a trading volume of 24,237,851 shares.

Valeant also announced plans to cut its debt by $2.25 billion, a step one of its top shareholders had suggested when the drugmaker was scrutinized over its revenue recognition and pricing practices. The ratio is negative, as 105 funds sold all Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc shares owned while 198 reduced positions. The 52-week high of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. The accord comes amid an outcry over skyrocketing drug prices. (NYSE:VRX) is $263.81 and the 52-week low is $69.33. TheStreet lowered shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.17 and its 200 day moving average is $189.90.

When looking at the daily charts for Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the stock has been in a strong downtrend.

In other Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl news, Director Ronald Harold Farmer bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st.

A U.S. Senate committee on aging recently held the first of a series of hearings on rising drug costs that focused on the practices of companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals and the U.S.-based Turing Pharmaceuticals. On average, analysts anticipate that Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl will post $2.89 earnings per share for the current year. Analyst recommendation for this stock stands at 3.00.

The company will offer 30 branded products at a discount of 5-95 per cent through Walgreens pharmacies, according to a separate agreement between the companies. The Company operates in five business segments: U.S. Neurology and Other, U.S. Dermatology, Canada and Australia, Branded Generics – Europe and Branded Generics -Latin America.