Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc: Pearson Out, Ackman In, Stock Up

With trading halted this morning for news on Valeant Pharmaceuticals near 9AM EST, that news came in strong this morning as the embattled firm announced that CEO J. Michael Pearson was stepping down, its best known investor, William Ackman of Pershing Square Management, was being installed on the board of directors, the firm acknowledged “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting and Howard Schiller, the firm’s former chief financial officer, is resisting efforts to be removed from the board of directors. With the stock beaten down from a high near $263.81 per share to a low of $26.72, sell-side analysts who…