Questcor Falls After Reporting Government Investigation

Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (QCOR) fell 37 percent after disclosing the company’s marketing practices are being investigated by the U.S. government.

Questcor dropped to $19.08 at 4 p.m. New York time, its lowest closing value since April 2011. The shares of the Anaheim, California-based company have declined 54 percent so far this year.

Questcor plunged the most in 20 years last week after insurer Aetna Inc. said it would limit coverage of Questcor’s top-selling drug, H.P. Acthar, a treatment for multiple sclerosis and infant seizures. The drug accounts for most of Questcor’s sales. Marko Kozul, an analyst at Leerink Swann in San Francisco, downgraded the stock to market perform today.

“Due to a multitude of factors, we believe Acthar may increasingly show up on insurers’ radars and undergo reimbursement reviews,” Kozul wrote in a note to investors.

In today’s filing, Questcor said it intends to cooperate with the investigation and that the company doesn’t plan further comment except for regulatory-compliant disclosures.

The company was also cut to hold at ThinkEquity LLC by James Molloy, an analyst. His 12-month target price is $26 a share.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Lopatto in New York at elopatto@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.