Shares of Valeant Plunge After CEO Went Outside Without a Sweater

This is the looniest shit I’ve ever seen. The stock price was doing just fine, until the CEO decided it was a good idea to walk the dog without a hat and sweater. As a result, he caught pneumonia and is now idled in a hospital receiving bronchial treatment.

Valeant and Pearson have come under pressure for steep price increases on some of its drugs and for close ties to a specialty pharmacy that used aggressive methods to overcome insurer barriers to reimbursing its medicines.

Pearson was hospitalized with the lung condition on Friday. A company spokeswoman declined on Monday to say whether he had experienced any complications or when he might return, adding it was honoring a family request for privacy.

“It is an inopportune time for their leader to take sick leave after the company has faced credibility issues in recent months,” said Morningstar analyst Damien Conover. “If the company was on solid footing, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue.”

Valeant said its board has created an “office of the Chief Executive Officer,” which will include General Counsel Robert Chai-Onn, Group Chairman Ari Kellen, and Chief Financial Officer Robert Rosiello.

“It is a little unusual to have that sort of operating structure, a panel” to fill in for an absent drug company CEO, Conover said.

Broadway Bill Ackman must be besides himself with disdain. After enduring a year from hell, long VRX into one short seller report after the next, falling victim to blogspot assault, he has to deal with this shit–the untimely near demise of its CEO. Out of all the things Broadway Bill didn’t want for the pagan holidays, I am sure this was at the top of his DO NOT REQUEST list from Santa.

I’ll hold my shares, hoping the CEO had little to do with the accounting creativity at VRX. God willing, the true author of the artistic accounting talents lies with some back office clerk, who toils away at the balance sheet to ensure the company pleases its fans on Wall Street.

Shares of VRX were off more than 10% today.