Stock Price Updates, Acquisition Proposals, Upcoming Events, Senior Level Appointments, and Pending Acquisition - Analyst Notes on AstraZeneca, Valeant, WellPoint, Illumina and Forest

NEW YORK, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Today, Analysts Review released its analysts' notes regarding AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE: AZN), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX), WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP), Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) and Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX). Private wealth members receive these notes ahead of publication. To reserve complementary membership, limited openings are available at: http://www.analystsreview.com/1546-100free.

AstraZeneca Plc Analyst Notes
On April 21, 2014, the stock (ADR) of AstraZeneca Plc (Astra) rallied 8.84% to close at $69.10 amidst reports of possible takeover bid by U.S. based drug maker Pfizer. During the session, the stock opened at $67.58, and fluctuated in the range of $66.66 - $69.65, with total volume of 11.39 million. A Bloomberg report published that same day suggested that Pfizer held informal talks with Astra, though any conclusion could not be reached. Bloomberg stated that if the deal happens, it would be among the largest ever deals in pharmaceutical industry. Meanwhile, Astra is scheduled to release its Q1 2014 financial results on April 24, 2014. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect the Company to report EPS of $1.19 versus $1.41 in Q1 2013. The full analyst notes on AstraZeneca are available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystsreview.com/1546-AZN-24Apr2014.pdf

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. Analyst Notes
On April 22, 2014, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (Valeant) announced the proposal to buy Allergan Inc. (Allergan) in a deal involving exchange of each Allergan share for $48.30 in cash and 0.83 shares of Valeant common stock. The proposal represents a huge premium based on Allergan's unaffected price of $116.63 on April 10, 2014, the day before Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. (Pershing Square) crossed the 5% Schedule 13D ownership level and commenced its rapid accumulation program. Post the merger, if successful, Allergan shareholders will hold 43% of the combined company. Pershing Square, Allergan's largest shareholder with a 9.7% stake, has supported the bid and agreed to elect only stock consideration in the transaction. Valeant also stated that it expects to meet or beat analyst consensus cash EPS expectations for Q1 2014 and raised 2014 cash EPS guidance from $8.25-$8.75 to $8.55-$8.80. Valeant stock rallied 7.46% to end at $135.41. The full analyst notes on Valeant are available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystsreview.com/1546-VRX-24Apr2014.pdf

WellPoint Inc. Analyst Notes
On April 16, 2014, WellPoint Inc. (WellPoint) announced the appointment of Dr. Martin Silverstein, M.D., as the Company's Chief Strategy Officer, with effect from April 28, 2014. The Company informed that Dr. Silverstein was previously working with The Boston Consulting Group as a Senior Partner and Managing Director. In his new role, Dr. Silverstein will be responsible for short and long-term strategic planning to ensure the Company is maximizing the value of its assets and attaining growth across its geographies and businesses. In addition, he will oversee enterprise marketing, corporate development and strategy functions. Commenting on the appointment, Joseph R. Swedish, WellPoint's CEO, said, "Marty brings broad health care sector expertise to the role, and is respected throughout the industry for advancing innovative business solutions at the intersection of managed care, care delivery, pharmacy, and health care reform." The full analyst notes on WellPoint are available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystsreview.com/1546-WLP-24Apr2014.pdf

Illumina Inc. Analyst Notes
Illumina Inc. (Illumina) posted on the events calendar of its website that it will host its Annual Shareholder Meeting on May 28, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Illumina is a developer and manufacturer of life science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and function. The full analyst notes on Illumina are available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystsreview.com/1546-ILMN-24Apr2014.pdf

Forest Laboratories Inc. Analyst Notes
On April 17, 2014, Forest Laboratories Inc. (Forest) and Actavis Plc (Actavis) jointly announced that both of them have received a request for additional information from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in relation to Actavis' pending acquisition of Forest. The two companies stated that they will cooperate with the FTC and continue to expect the transaction to close in mid-year 2014. The effect of the second request is to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act until 30 days after Actavis and Forest have substantially complied with the request, unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. In February this year, Actavis had agreed to acquire Forest for $25 billion in cash and stock. If successfully completed, the transaction will combine two of the world's fastest-growing specialty pharmaceutical companies, with combined annual revenues of over $15 billion anticipated for 2015. The full analyst notes on Forest are available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystsreview.com/1546-FRX-24Apr2014.pdf

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EDITOR'S NOTES:
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