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Analysts speculated that those two companies, which have similar specialties to Medarex, could be the next to be acquired.
The $2.4 billion deal for antibody technology specialist Medarex, announced late on Wednesday, marked the latest in a string of windfalls for biotech investors this year.
The industry has also seen a wave of out-sized share price gains in 2009 on the back of positive clinical data and deals.
Regeneron was up 9 percent at $19.60 in afternoon trading, while Seattle Genetics was 6.9 percent higher at $9.97.
Like Medarex, both of those companies specialize in monoclonal antibodies. Shares of ImmunoGen (Nasdaq:IMGN) another monoclonal antibody specialist, were up 3.9 percent.
"In the wake of the Medarex acquisition, I see Regeneron as one of the last remaining companies with a true (monoclonal antibody) platform that is still stand alone," ThinkEquity analyst Jason Kolbert said.
Just as Medarex had struck partnership deals, Kolbert said Regeneron has ties to large companies such as Bayer and Sanofi-Aventis.
"They have a great balance sheet, great partnerships with pharma giants," Kolbert said. "It's got all of the same ingredients that a Medarex has."
Regeneron and Seattle Genetics are the most likely next candidates to be acquired, said Mark Monane, an analyst at Needham & Co.
Monane said other characteristics that define likely biotech takeout targets included companies with hematology and oncology products, medicines in late-stage development and existing partnerships with other companies.
Monane said that other companies that could be put in play, although somewhat less likely, include Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ALXN), Allos Therapeutics (Nasdaq:ALTH), AMAG Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AMAG), ArQule (Nasdaq:ARQL), Celldex Therapeutics (Nasdaq:CLDX), Dendreon (Nasdaq:DNDN) and Poniard Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:PARD).
Dendreon shares rose 6.6 percent to $24.57 after a source told Reuters the biotech company hired JPMorgan Chase as an adviser to help it find an international licensing partner for its prostate cancer vaccine Provenge.
Many other large drugmakers are scrambling to buy promising biotechnology companies to fill their late-stage pipelines as they confront generic competition to big-selling products.
Indeed, Bristol-Myers CEO James Cornelius said the company remains financially able to pursue more deals even with the Medarex deal.
Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) completed its $930 million purchase of Cougar Biotechnology Inc, just days after agreeing to pay $1 billion for an 18 percent stake in Irish drugmaker Elan Corp (NYSE:ELN) and to acquire a major stake in Elan's portfolio of experimental treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
Several biotech companies have seen their shares soar this year after surprising investors with positive clinical data or regulatory approvals.
Just this week, Human Genome Sciences (Nasdaq:HGSI) shares jumped more than 200 percent after the company announced positive data for its experimental lupus drug.
Dendreon and MAP Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:MAPP) are among the other companies with positive surprises this year.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf and Bill Berkrot; Editing by Ted Kerr and Richard Chang)
Below is a summary of updates to the BioMedReports.com database of over 200 entries included in the FDA and Clinical Trial Calendars. The FDA Calendar includes companies with pending new drug, biological agent, or medical device new product decisions at the FDA sorted by their PDUFA decision deadline dates while the Clinical Trial Calendar encompasses pending clinical trial results (with a focus on late-stage, Phase 3 trials), pending new submissions to the FDA (e.g. NDA, BLA, 510k, PMA, sNDA, s (...)[More...]
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Atmel, Skyworks, Alcatel-Lucent, Parexel and Map Pharma were today's noteworthy initiations:
Kaufman Bros. initiated Atmel (NASDAQ: ATML) with a Buy rating and $6 target, as they believe the company's increasing focus around its core microcontroller business can drive an improved growth and profitability profile going forward and would be buyers at current levels.
The firm also started shares of Skyworks (NASDAQ: SWKS) with a Buy rating and a $10 target, as they like the company's balanced customer positioning and find the stock attractively valued at current levels.
JP Morgan initiated Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) with an Overweight rating and believes the risks are more than fully priced into shares at current levels.
Parexel (NADSAQ: PRXL) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Broadpoint, as they believe the company's improved execution is already priced into shares.
Deutsche Bank finds shares of Map Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MAPP) attractively valued given the opportunity from the company's two late stage product candidates, UDB and Tempo Migraine. The firm started shares off with a Buy rating and $19 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Wachovia initiated coverage of leisure stocks, starting shares of Carnival (NYSE: CCL), Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) and Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) with Outperform ratings.
Credit Suisse initiated PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) with Outperform ratings and targets of $87 and $68, respectively.
Wall Street's equity market offers a full schedule this week, with 8 IPOs and 5 Secondaries on the docket.
Those deals tentatively scheduled to price include:
IPOs:
Possible
Merrion Pharmaceuticals (MERR), a 4M-share IPO for this pharmaceuticals company. Punk Zeigel is the lead manager. Filing range: $10.00-$12.00.
Early Week
Liberty Acquisition (LIA), an 86.25M-share IPO for this reorganization services company. Citigoup is the lead manager.
Wednesday
Bioheart (BHRT), a 3.575M-share IPO for this heart treatments. Merriman is the lead manager.
Constant Contact (CTCT), a 6.7M-share IPO for this web mail marketing company. CIBC and Thomas Weisel are the lead managers. Filing range: $12.00-$14.00
SP Acquisition (DSP), a 34.5M-share IPO for this blank check investment company. UBS Investment and Ledenburg, Thalmann are the lead managers. Filing price: $10.00.
Thursday
Main Street Capital (MAIN), a 5M-share IPO. Morgan Keegan and BB & T Capital Markets are the lead managers. Filing price: $15.00.
Friday
China Digital (STV), a 12M-share IPO for this digital media company. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are the lead managers. Filing range: $11.00-$13.00.
MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP), a 5M-share IPO for this repository medicines company. Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are the lead managers. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.
Secondaries:
Wednesday
AngloGold Ashanti (AU), a 61M-share Secondary for this mining company. Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment are the lead managers.
Sierra Wireless Holdings (SWIR), a 3.5M-share Secondary for this telecommunications equipment company. CIBC is the lead manager.
Thursday
Aircastle (AYR), a 20M-share Secondary for this aircraft leasing company. JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, and Citigroup are the lead managers.
Solera Holdings (SLH), an 18.1M-share Secondary for this insurance software company. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase are the lead managers.
FTI Consulting (FCN), a 4.2M-share Secondary for this reorganization services company. Duetsche Bank, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are the lead managers.
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For the latest market intelligence on IPOs, Syndicate, and after-market trades, check out The Fly Syndicate at www.theflyonthewall.com. (Subscription required.)
BioHeart (BHRT) biotech for heart damage treatment: C, 6
China Digital TV (STV) digital television access systems in China: C+, 8
Constant Contact (CTCT) on-demand email marketing solutions: C, 6
MAP Pharma (MAPP) inhalable drugs for asthma: C, 6
Merrion Pharma (MERR) oral dosage forms of drugs: C, 6
IPOs that did very well in the IPO aftermarket the last half of the September 2007 quarter. VMware (VMW) B, 10. lululemon athletica (LULU) B-, 8. WuXi Pharma Tech (WX) B-, 9.
E-House (China) (EJ) B-, 9
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