Several investment firms have updated their stock ratings and price targets on shares of Questcor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: QCOR) in the last week:

  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Group. They wrote, “Because of the vague statements issued in the Aetna (AET, Buy, $39.43) Clinical Policy Bulletin regarding Acthar, we believe there’s still confusion regarding the potential reimbursement for Acthar. However, after speaking with an Aetna representative last night, we have confirmed that Aetna is not reimbursing for Acthar except for infantile spasm. We also learned that there is little room for QCOR to reverse this policy decision because it would require data from a clinical trial published in a peer-reviewed medicaljournal. Furthermore, the reimbursement change was finalized after clinical data analysis by pharmacy directors including discussions with neurologists and therefore a decision reversal, in the near-term, is unlikely. Lastly, while patients may submit an appeal on a case-by-case basis, it is rare for claims to successfully navigate this process.”
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its price target raised by analysts at Oppenheimer from $59.00 to $69.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Lazard Capital. They now have a $74.00 price target on the stock.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its price target lowered by analysts at Oppenheimer to $65.00.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at CRT Capital. They now have a $57.00 price target on the stock.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Jaffray. They now have a $67.00 price target on the stock.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals was downgraded by analysts at Jefferies Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $30.00 price target on the stock.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its price target lowered by analysts at Bank of America to $45.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. They wrote, “Today Questcor announced in an 8-K that the US government has launched an investigation regarding the company’s promotional practices. No other details were provided. Our conversation with CEO Don Bailey did not yield further visibility. The negative impact could be exacerbated by the lack of details provided by the company on today’s news as well as last week’s news of a change in language on Aetna’s coverage policy for Acthar. While there are a wide range of potential outcomes, we now conservatively assume a fine equal to 2012 revenues ($463mn)… We also assume more cautious marketing activities could lead to a more modest revenue growth rate.”
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its price target lowered by analysts at Ladenburg Thalmann from $57.00 to $45.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Leerink Swann. They noted that the move was a valuation call. They noted that the move was a valuation call.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals was downgraded by analysts at Ladenburg Thalmann from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating. They wrote, “In our view the US government investigation coupled with recent potential reimbursement headwinds create great uncertainty around an investment in QCOR shares. We believe it could take some time until the Street gains clarity on the implications of these two issues.”
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals was downgraded by analysts at Piper Jaffray from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating. They wrote, “We are downgrading Questcor to a Neutral from an Overweight and lowering our price target to $43 from $67 on the heels of the company learning on 9/21/12 that it has become the subject of a federal government investigation related to promotional practices for Acthar. Though we continue to believe that off-label promotion would be difficult to fathom given the broad nature of the Acthar label, the reality is that these kind of investigations often take years, and often involve both federal and state investigativebodies (QCOR suggested that as of now, it is only the subject of a federal government investigation). As such, we believe the uncertainty created makes it difficult for us to envision QCOR shares approaching their recent highs anytime soon, and continued volatility in the shares is likely to continue to be the norm.”
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals was downgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “perform” rating. They wrote, “On 9/24, QCOR filed an 8-K announcing that the company became aware of a government investigation relating to QCOR’s promotional practices. Given the uncertainties around the investigation and the potential ramifications associated withany potential wrongdoing, we are lowering our rating to Perform from Outperform and rescinding our PT. While the outcome of this investigation is uncertain, in our view, worst case scenario is that sales of Acthar may be adversely affected if QCOR is forced to change marketing activities in any way following the culmination of this investigation. We believe shares could trade sideways until we get more clarity around this investigation. We will revisit our thesis upon the conclusion of this investigation.”
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals was downgraded by analysts at CRT Capital from a “buy” rating to a “fair value” rating.
  • Questcor Pharmaceuticals was downgraded by analysts at ThinkEquity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $26.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $58.00.

Shares of Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. opened at 18.24 on Thursday. Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $58.91. The company has a market cap of $1.115 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.40.

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Questcor) is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company’s primary product is H.