Valeant Has Risk Of New Undisclosed SEC Probe, Report Says

According to a report by Probes Reporter, an independent publisher of investment research that focuses on public company interactions with the SEC, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX is facing an undisclosed SEC investigation. Probes Reporter noted that it received a letter dated February 4, 2016 from the SEC which suggested the company is the subject of an unspecified investigation. The report added that a prior check with the SEC on September 30, 2015 revealed no ongoing SEC investigative activity involving Valeant. The company then went on to disclose an SEC investigation involving its recently acquired Salix unit in October. "This leaves us comfortable that the response of 04-Feb-2016 is almost certainly related to a new SEC investigation involving the conduct, transactions, and/or disclosures of Valent Pharmaceuticals, and not necessarily Salix," Probes Reporter stated. Probes Reporter further suggested that the damage to the company's credibility for not disclosing the most recent SEC probe is "now done." In fact, management disclosed subpoenas from various government agencies and "disclosing an SEC probe would have been something of a 'freebie' for Valeant; that is, investors may not have given it a second thought." Bottom line, Probes Reporter argued that until investors "find out what's really going on between Valeant and the SEC, we suggest you proceed with appropriate caution." Shares of Valeant were trading higher by more than 2.50 percent ahead of Tuesday's market open.