UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Outperform Rating, Lowers PT on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Following Announcement of CEO Resignation

In a report published Thursday, BMO Capital Markets analyst David Maris reiterated an Outperform rating on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. TEVA, but lowered the price target from $49.00 to $44.00. In the report, BMO Capital Markets noted, “In surprising news today, Teva announced the resignation of its president and CEO, Jeremy Levin, who entered the role May of last year. Teva also hosted a conference call where the chairman tried to calm investor fears with statements to the effect that ‘things have never looked better' and ‘if not for the black out period, I'd be tempted to buy stock.' With the stock down 7% intraday, and having underperformed the S&P500 for the past one, three, and five years, many investors would argue the point and take him up on the offer.” Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. closed on Wednesday at $37.70.