Nomura Downgrades Valeant, Says It's Been 'Humbled'

Nomura’s Shibani Malhotra downgraded Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX from Buy to Neutral, while slashing the price target from $175 to $60. She commented, “We have lost conviction in Valeant.”

The company has announced a larger reduction in its 2016 than was anticipated. “We admit upfront, we have been humbled by our stock call on VRX, which we have defended despite the continuing spate of bad news, as we believed that despite the noise surrounding the company, much of the fundamental businesses had been performing well,” analyst Shibani Malhotra wrote.

The new target price does represent potential upside of 79.1 percent. The analyst mentioned, however, that the company’s shares are unlikely to outperform the market in the near term. She added that confidence had been lost in management’s ability to understand the company’s business and offer a guidance that is reliable.