Ariad Shares Continue to Surge Amidst Buyout Rumors - GSK (NYSE:GSK)

Shares of

Ariad Pharmaceuticals

(NASDAQ:

) continue to surge following commercial availability of Iclusig and the UK Daily Mail's report on a potential buyout. On January 17, Ariad reported on the

commercial availability of Iclusig^® (ponatinib)

for adult patients with refractory chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the United States. Following the FDA approval, the UK Daily Mail reported that at least three international big pharma companies have approached Ariad regarding a potential buyout. The pharma companies include Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:

LLY

), GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:

GSK

), and Shire plc (NASDAQ:

SHPG

) who are rumored to pay as much as $20.00 per share. BMO Capital Markets analyst Jim Birchenough commented that Ariad has “significant value” to be realized from Iclusig. Birchenough raised his rating from Market Perform to Outperform and increased the price target from $8.00 to $14.00. Ariad told BMO that “all options, including partnership and M&A” remain on the table. The analyst added that commercializing Iclusig would require additional funding, to expand the drug beyond the narrow label. Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals is up as much as 15% following the Daily Mail's article. Ariad closed at $8.98 on Friday, up 19.41% for the day.

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