RVMD Stock Soars 11% After Reports Of Near $30B Buyout Talks With Merck

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the deal could be announced as soon as later this month.

• The report, however, also noted that the deal may not materialize or Revolution Medicines could enter into a deal with another suitor. 
• Merck is reportedly eyeing a deal that values Revolution Medicines between $28 billion and $32 billion. 
• The Keytruda maker is currently seeking to fortify its drug portfolio before its blockbuster cancer therapy begins to lose patent protection in 2028.

Pharmaceutical major Merck (MRK) is reportedly in talks to purchase Revolution Medicines (RVMD) in a deal that values the latter between $28 billion and $32 billion.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the deal could be announced as soon as later this month. The report, however, also noted that the deal may not materialize or Revolution Medicines could enter into a deal with another suitor.

Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Merck is pursuing an acquisition of the Redwood City-based biotech. However, FT did not provide a potential deal value.

Shares of RVMD jumped 11% at the time of writing while MRK shares edged 0.4% lower.

Potential Suitors

Revolution Medicines is developing therapies for patients with RAS-addicted cancers. RAS-addicted cancers are prevalent malignancies, including pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancers, driven by mutations in RAS genes. The company currently has multiple drugs in clinical development including daraxonrasib, elironrasib, zoldonrasib, and RMC-5127. Some of its investigational drugs are yet to enter human trials.

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that AbbVie is in talks to acquire the cancer drugmaker. However, AbbVie denied the report in an emailed statement to Stocktwits and said, “AbbVie has not been in talks to acquire RevMed.”

RVMD currently has a market cap of about $22.6 billion. Prior to reports of deal talks, the company was valued at about $16 billion.

Merck Attempts To Fortify Portfolio With Acquisitions

Merck is currently seeking to fortify its drug portfolio before its blockbuster cancer therapy Keytruda begins to lose patent protection in 2028. Keytruda generated approximately $29.5 billion in global sales for the full year 2024, accounting for about 46% of the company’s overall worldwide sales.

The company entered into a deal to acquire Cidara Therapeutics for about $9.2 billion in November. It also agreed in July to buy respiratory drug developer Verona Pharma for $10 billion as part of a broader effort to maintain revenue momentum.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around RVMD stock stayed within the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume remained at ‘extremely high’ levels.

Sentiment around MRK stock, meanwhile, rose from ‘neutral’ to ‘bullish’ territory, while message volume rose from ‘normal’ to ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user noted that a bidding war for Revolution Medicines could increase the deal value to about $200 per share.

Wedbush on Friday increased its price target on Revolution Medicines to $147 from $80 while keeping an ‘Overperform’ rating on the shares in light of the deal talks.

RVMD shares have nearly tripled over the past 12 months. 

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