Valeant Pharmaceuticals suggested the 5% intraday pullback in its shares may be related to confusion about a recent regulatory filing concerning a potential offering, Wells Fargo analyst David Maris tells investors in a research note.

The company's private placement exemption application relates to a potential placement of a maximum $1.5B in senior notes, not equity, Maris points out after speaking to Valeant.

The company told Maris that some investors may have misread the filing as an exemption for a potential equity raise, which it is not. Valeant, though, previously said equity is not off the table as a means to bring down debt, which could have contributed to today's confusion, Maris writes in a late afternoon research note.

He keeps an Underperform rating on Valeant shares, which are down in afternoon trading 4%, or 64c, to $13.75.