Revolution Medicines stock rises on Merck acquisition talks

Investing.com -- Revolution Medicines (NASDAQ: RVMD) stock rose 5% Thursday following a Financial Times report that Merck (NYSE: MRK) is in talks to acquire the biotech company.

According to the FT, citing people familiar with the matter, Merck has been pursuing an acquisition of the Redwood City-based biotech firm, though a deal has not been finalized. Any potential agreement would be at least several weeks away, sources indicated.

The report also suggested that other large pharmaceutical companies remain interested in Revolution Medicines, and another suitor might ultimately prevail. However, a transaction is not guaranteed at this stage.

This development comes just a day after Abbvie (NYSE: ABBV) denied it was in discussions to purchase Revolution Medicines, following rumors published in the Wall Street Journal. These acquisition rumors have created significant volatility in Revolution’s stock, though shares have generally trended upward in recent days.

Revolution Medicines, which focuses on developing targeted therapies for cancer treatment, has become an attractive target in the pharmaceutical industry’s ongoing consolidation trend, as larger companies seek to bolster their drug pipelines through acquisitions.

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