NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 10, 2017 / The S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ Composite Index hit new intraday highs on Tuesday as continued strength in corporate earnings and a positive outlook for the U.S. economy, with a potential tax cut on the horizon, has boosted investor confidence. The S&P 500 Index hit an intraday high of 2,403.87 before settling to close at 2,396.92, a decrease of 0.10 percent, while the NASDAQ hit an intraday high of 6,133.00 before settling to close at 6,120.59, an increase of 0.29 percent.

"Earnings are improving and the potential for tax reform plays a big role. Why would you want to sell stocks here when you might get a tax break later on?" said Bruce Bittles, Chief Investment Strategist for Robert W. Baird & Co., according to Reuters.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Endo International
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=ENDP

Valeant Pharmaceuticals
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=VRX

Endo International's shares spiked 18.16 percent to close at $12.82 a share on Tuesday. The stock traded between $11.65 and $13.05 on volume of 22.53 million shares traded. The company reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of $173.8 million, or $0.78 per share, in the first quarter of 2017, up from a net loss of $133.9 million, or $0.60 per share, reported a year ago. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $1.23 per share for the first quarter, which topped average analysts' expectations of $1.10 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Total revenues were $1.04 billion for the first quarter, an increase of 7.7 percent year-over-year. The company expects total revenue for year 2017 to be between $3.45 billion to $3.60 billion. Shares of Endo International have fallen approximately 22.16 percent year-to-date.

"During Endo's February 2017 earnings call, we outlined key priorities that we believe will enable us to achieve our Company's vision. As we noted, we expect this to take time, but our strong first-quarter performance illustrates how our renewed focus on execution is beginning to yield results. The quarter benefited from new Generic product introductions and continued strong growth from our Branded Specialty products business," said Paul Campanelli, President and CEO of Endo.

Access RDI's Endo International Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=ENDP

Valeant Pharmaceuticals' shares surged 24.10 percent to close at $12.05 a share on Tuesday. The stock traded between $10.57 and $12.43 on volume of 125.26 million shares traded. Valeant reported a net income of $628 million, or $1.79 per share, in the first quarter of 2017, mainly on account of recovery provision of $924 million of income taxes paid earlier. Revenues were $2.11 billion for the first quarter, down from $2.37 billion a year ago. The company announced that it has reduced its debt by $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017, leaving total debt at $28.54 billion as of March 31st, 2017. Valeant now expects Full Year Adjusted EBITDA to be between $3.60 billion to $3.75 billion, up from previous guidance of $3.55 billion to $3.70 billion. Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals have fallen approximately 17.01 percent year-to-date.

"By refinancing the debt, we now have a very manageable debt paydown schedule for the next several years, we shifted to about 75% fixed versus floating-rate debt, and finally we substantially improved our covenant position," Paul Herendeen, Valeant's Chief Financial Officer, told analysts on the company's earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript.

Access RDI's Valeant Pharmaceuticals Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=VRX

Our Actionable Research on Endo International Plc (NASDAQ: ENDP) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc. (NYSE: VRX) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com