Valeant (VRX) Stock Gaining, Former CEO Still ‘Significant Shareholder'
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) are up 3.98% to $22.49 this morning as the company seeks to assure investors that former CEO Michael Pearson is still a "significant shareholder" despite selling options totaling approximately 4.4 million shares yesterday.
Analysts at Gimme Credit said the sale indicated Pearson's "zero confidence" in Valeant's future, in a note cited by Barron's.
However, Valeant issued a statement today reminding investors that Pearson still owns 3.5 million company shares.
"Mike's personal stock transactions are not a reflection of the ongoing viability of Valeant," CEO Joseph Papa said.
According to Pearson's separation agreement, he must hold 1 million shares of common stock in the company for two years after his termination date in May of this year.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D.
The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: VRX
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.