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The Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) stock price soared 16% to $110.98 Tuesday, but we remain bearish on the VRX stock price in 2016.
Sending the Valeant stock price higher today was news the drug giant secured a deal to distribute some of its medicines through Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) pharmacies.
The Walgreens deal comes six weeks after Valeant terminated a distribution arrangement with specialty pharmacy Philidor Rx. The pharmacy has been accused of questionable business practices.
Under the arrangement with Walgreens, Valeant will trim prices by 10% for branded dermatology and ophthalmology products distributed by Walgreens pharmacies. Valeant also plans to extend the model to independent retail pharmacies.
The deal starts in Q1 2016 and will span 20 years. The deal also includes more than 8,000 U.S. Walgreens pharmacies.
The deal comes at a time when the VRX stock price has been completely beaten down. Even with today's gain, Valeant stock is still down more than 58% since Aug. 1.
Valeant didn't detail how the deal would affect its revenue prospects, but the company will hold an investor day Wednesday to provide new forecasts.
Still, the beleaguered drug giant faces a number of high hurdles that will weigh on the VRX stock price for months, if not years…