Valeant (VRX) Stock Gains as FDA Approves Anticonstipation Drug

Valeant (VRX) stock is trading higher after the FDA approved its drug to treat constipation shortly after an FDA advisory board backed its psoriasis treatment.
By Rachel Graf ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) are up 3.82% to $24.44 in early-morning trading on Wednesday after the drugmaker and Progenics Pharmaceuticals (PGNX) said the FDA approved their Relistor treatment for opiod-induced constipation. 

Progenics licenses the drug to Valeant, which expects to begin marketing the treatment in the U.S. during the 2016 third quarter. 

The FDA approved Relistor hours after an FDA advisory board voted 18-0 to approve Valeant's psoriosis treatment Brodalumab on the condition that the company enacts measures to mitigate suicide risk.

In conjunction with glaucoma treatment Latanoprostene bunod, which is under FDA review and expected to be approved this month, Valeant could generate as much as $2 billion annually in sales, Rodman & Renshaw managing director Raghuram Selvaraju toldReal Money's James Passeri.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D.

Valeant's weaknesses include 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

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 article's author. 

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