Valeant's outlook for the quarter, year and 2016 grows grim

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.