Bill Ackman Expects Valeant’s Stock to Recover Once Confidence Is Restored

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman defended his hedge fund's stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) during a conference call with investors on Wednesday. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund posted its largest quarterly loss ever thanks in part to the 70 percent year-to-date decline of Valeant shares in the first three months of the year. On the call, Ackman said Valeant dinged the hedge fund's performance by 1300-1600 basis points during the first quarter. 'Today, Valeant's stock price trades where it does largely because investors have lost confidence in the financial statements of the company, largely due to accusations of malfeasance or inappropriate accounting,' Ackman said. Once confidence is restored, Ackman said he expects the stock price to recover. As for priorities going forward, Ackman said the company is focused on filing its 10K on or before April 29th -- as well as finding a new CEO. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.