Buyout Rumors Flood the Biotech Sector

She added that the biotech sector is in a place where the group could see more licensing pacts and collaborations, some of which would probably involve a large company striking a business deal with a smaller company. In those cases, there's always the chance for the larger company in a strategic alliance to be talked about as a possible acquirer.

"In an environment where we're potentially re-entering a bull market, investors are likely to hear more of these sorts of rumors," she said.

Dennis Harp, an analyst with Deutsche Banc, said that until more facts come out about any potential deals, making a sound judgment about which pairings might make sense and which don't was a difficult endeavor. "Until further information emerges, it would be useless to speculate," he said.

A recently proposed buyout in the biotech sector could have been the impetus for at least some of the takeover talk, he suggested.

"It might be related to news last week where it was announced that Chiron (CHIR) was acquiring PowderJect, and it was a good strategic fit," Harp said. "I'm not surprised that other potential mergers or acquisitions would be hypothesized."

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints