Valeant Plunges After Congressional Oversight Memo Released

Shares of VRX are down more than $10, from an early morning surge, following a scathing memo from the Congressional Oversight Committe being released.

Access full document here.

In response to the letter, VRX is copping pleas, pointing to price cuts and all sorts of ‘good guy’ jargon.

We are also making overall changes to how we run our business. Under our recent partnership with Walgreens we will be offering 10% price reductions on some of our most popular drugs and up to 95% reductions for a large number of our branded drugs for which there is a generic alternative. Going forward, we expect our growth to be driven more by volume than by price.

When we set the price of any one drug, we do it in the overall context of our portfolio of approximately 1,800 products, including more than 200 prescription drugs in the United States, and the need to fund our robust companywide research and development programs, our expanding U.S. manufacturing base, and our patient assistance programs. In 2016, we expect to invest approximately $400 million on R&D, $484 million in expanding manufacturing in Rochester, NY, and $1 billion in our patient assistance programs that seek to ensure that out-of-pocket expenses do no prevent eligible patients from receiving medicines they need.

Should Bernie Sanders find his way into the White House, this stock is going to single digits.

It’s worth noting, however, the political climate has shifted mightily against big medicine in recent months. Both Trump and Clinton are supportive of healthcare reform that entails allowing government to negotiate with drug makers. This, of course, makes sense. From a drug makers point of view: the party might be ending soon.

Scott Dewitt, from the crime ridden city where Stifel resides, St. Louis, is very mad at Twitter this morning and has reengaged his negative feelings for the company by downgrading its shares with a $14 target.

The amusing thing about his downgrade is the nonsensical nature of it all. He said he was positive on the name, after being negative, for the past three months–hoping things would turn around. In layman’s terms, he was basing his new found bullishness on Jack Dorsey, which is a pretty flaccid reason to switch from bear to bull, frankly.

Here are his retarded comments.

“We are returning our rating on Twitter shares back to where it should have been all along — Sell.”

“Twitter is a product that has never fully developed into a sustainable public company due to either poor strategy, poor execution, or that it was never destined to be one.”

“Groupon and Zynga were notable Internet companies that quickly rose to prominence followed by a rapid decline in their share prices,” he wrote. “Although these companies are not at Twitter’s scale, both still have ~50mm ‘users’ and once had many more.”

“We took a respite from the negativity for a brief period in the past three months based on the belief that if the product strategy were going to show signs of improvement we might see the stock respond,” he wrote.

“Well the stock sure responded (negatively!) and the product still resembles its former self while the individual in charge of the product as recently as two weeks ago now resides at Instagram.”

So let me get this straight. It took Mr. Dewitt 3 months of wanton fuckery in Twitter’s share price underperformance, in which the stock fell almost 50%, to downgrade the stock to sell?

Great job helping investors navigate the murky waters of social media, fucked face.

Stocks are getting smoked this morning–due to more sellers than buyers. I could offer you a thousand reasons as to why stocks are lower; but the biggest asshole response would be ‘more sellers than buyers’–so that’s what I’m going with.

Brent is off 5% and natty is down 7%. This is what the beginning of the end of the world looks like.

I sold out of my final tranche of SPY this morning, leaving me with zero equity exposure, 75% cash and 25% invested in the building of an Ark, aka TLT. Money is running into government bonds now. My basis for TLT is under $120.50.

I’d like to tell you all will be well and that stocks are gonna come back; but they’re not. We’re in a debilitating bear market, one that is going to make you wish you resided in the half world chasing centaurs with your bow made from unicorn.

The parasitic fribble are being washed away from the field of play. Only the strong will remain, after it’s all said and done. Le Fly is the strongest of them all, a river to his people, a great puncher of frog faces–an ineradicable force of energy that leaves enemies in his wake– crest fallen from irreversible failure.

Bloomberg is reporting that Greenlight Capital shed an ‘unexplained’ $600 million last year, chalking it up to redemptions–since the fund lost 20% in 2015. But, hidden amongst the rubble of their idiotic article was the fact that Greenlight made 1.4% in January.

This is especially impressive, since, according to recent filings, his largest holdings were AAPL and GM, down 8% and 11%, respectively, for the year. He must’ve offset those losses with hedges and his large gold holdings.

One of Einhorn’s newest positions is Macy’s, which is up 17% for the year. In pre-market trading, one of their top 5 holdings, KORS, is up 17% on an earnings beat. That should help offset some of the fuckery stocks are about to endure–with Dow futures off by 155.

Kudos to David for crushing January.

If approved, this would be the largest acquisition by any Chinese company, acquiring foreign assets. The $43 billion offer is a 24% premium to yeaterday’s closing price. I am highly doubtful the Swiss government will approve of such a deal, as Syngenta is a major ag player, globally, and the pride and joy of the bean counters in Switzerland.

My theory is supported by the fact that shares are only up 5% in pre-market trade.

ChemChina will likely be told to “fuck off” and to never come knocking on Swiss doors again.

If this deal is happening, there is a huge arb opportunity right now between the offer and current price spread.

The Iowa caucuses are over and so is any glimmer of hope for a normal stock market.

Dow futures are sharply lower. France is having its gateau eaten for it and oil, naturally, is at the epicenter of it all.

Oh and an admitted socialist won last night’s Iowa caucuses.

Bernie is that grouchy old man next door that you love. He rants and raves about how fucked up everything is; and you indulge him because of his passion and because it’s humorous. However, if Bernie were ever able to become the leader of the free world, in some sort of twisted perverted way, that might put a different spin on old grouchy Bernie’s spirited verbose.

In his victory speech tonight, Sanders told Wall Street to fuck itself. A speculation tax is coming. Also, he said the word “billionaire” about 10 times, none of which were supported by a positive narrative.

Bernie gets elected: the Dow is going to 5,000.

She’s looks batshit crazy and Bill looks like a famished vampire.

She’s up by 0.2%, so it’s not exactly a win. But who cares, really?

Trump’s concession speech tonight in Iowa. He’s gonna go back there ‘many, many times’ and buy a fucking farm.

Onto New Hampshire.

Ted Cruz is gonna win the Iowa caucus, with 28% of the vote compared to Trump at 24% and Marco “Big Ears” Rubio at 23%.

The Donald humiliated himself this evening, unable to relate to the corn loving Iowans. Perhaps they preferred Cruz because he believes Jesus is going to come back to Earth in order to smite the human race for electing Barrack Hussein Obama?

With 99% of the vote in, Trump is barely 2,000 votes ahead of Rubio, an utterly useless candidate with the biggest ears ever placed on a human head.

Ted Cruz didn’t win tonight. The Teflon Don lost.