Valeant (VRX) Q1 2016 Earnings: Can It Finally Turn Investor Sentiment Around?

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. will report its quarterly earnings for the three months up to March 31 on Tuesday morning before the New York Stock Exchange opens. The first quarterly results under the watch of new CEO Joseph Papa may soothe investor sentiment, which has punished the stock severely since the company was embroiled in controversies surrounding a mail order pharmacy and the pricing of its drugs.

The company is expected to post revenue of $2.35 billion for the first quarter of 2016, a 7.3 percent rise over the same quarter in 2015, according to the mean forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. Net income of just over $471 million is expected to lead to earnings per share of $1.35, according to the same poll. That is significantly lower than $809 million in net income and earnings per share of $2.36 posted during the first quarter last year.

Investors can expect fewer surprises this time around, since the risk of the company defaulting on its debts is far lower now than it had been in March, when Valeant last announced its results. Valeant also reiterated its guidance for the first quarter last month.

Around the time former CEO Michael Pearson left and Papa replaced him, the company made another big change: It gave up on its strategy of hefty price increases for its drugs, and instead reduced the prices on many of them. This has contributed to the weakness in bottom line numbers. The change in strategy also leaves open the question of Valeant’s future profitability.

While Papa reaffirmed the quarterly guidance given by his predecessor, he is yet to confirm the full-year guidance given by Pearson. Investors will watch for Papa’s comments on that front, as well as for more details of how the Canadian company will reduce its $30 billion of long-term debt burden.

Valeant’s shares closed 0.10 percent lower on the NYSE Monday, but have gained over 11 percent in the last three weeks. It is a huge change from the almost 72 percent fall since the beginning of the year or the almost 88 percent fall in the last 12 months. For comparison, the S&P 500 Index rose 2.23 percent since January and 0.79 percent from a year ago. Conversely, the benchmark index rose only 3.07 percent in the last three weeks.