Embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals has slashed its expectations for the fourth quarter and all of 2015, with about two weeks left in both, and issued a guarded outlook for next year as well.
But shares of the Canadian drug company jumped more than 3 percent in premarket trading Wednesday, continuing a rally that started Tuesday after Valeant announced a new distribution deal with Walgreens and plans to line up more pharmacies to sell its products.
The stock had tumbled since hitting an all-time high in August, as Valeant's business model and pricing came under close scrutiny from both industry analysts and members of Congress.
Valeant on Wednesday lowered its per-share profit expectations for 2015 to between $10.23 and $10.33 from between $11.67 and $11.87. That's well short of the $11.11 that Wall Street had projected, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet.
The drug company also chopped its outlook for this quarter to $2.55 to $2.65 per share from $4.00 to $4.20. Analysts expect, on average, $3.47 per share.
For 2016, Valeant expects adjusted earnings to range between $13.25 and $13.75 per share. That also misses average analyst expectations for $14.20 per share.
The company's stock rose 3.1 percent, or $3.40, to $112.99 in premarket trading about an hour and a half before the market open on Wednesday.