There's a slight slowing in the amount of healthcare M&A right now, even though 2018 started out strong.
The healthcare industry has historically been one of the most active sectors for deals. But a recent research report from Morgan Stanley said that analysts think high valuations of healthcare companies as well as a wealth of readily available funding for biotechs are limiting the number of takeovers.
Here are the top 10 healthcare companies Morgan Stanley analysts predict are most likely to receive tender offers in the next 12 months. Morgan Stanley used a proprietary quantitative model to make its predictions. It also excluded stocks that have been the subject of takeover rumors.
SEE ALSO: Billions are pouring into digital health — here are the hottest young companies among VCs this year
Iqvia
Ticker: IQV Company summary: Formerly IMS Health and Quintiles, IQVIA is now a multinational company that conducts contracted clinical research and provides health information technologies. Market cap: $26.4 billion
Biomarin Pharmaceutical
Ticker: BMRN
Company summary: BioMarin focuses on developing treatments for rare diseases. It recently launched Palynziq, which treats adult phenylketonuria, a rare inherited disorder in which the body can't process an amino acid called phenylalanine. Its pipeline also includes vosoritide (treats achondroplasia, a type of short-limbed dwarfism), val-rox (hemophilia A gene therapy), and BMN250 (treats Sanfilippo Syndrome B).
Market cap: $17.6 billion
Seattle Genetics
Ticker: SGEN
Company summary: Seattle Genetics is a biotech company that develops treatments for cancer. Its lead product is Adcetris, which treats different forms of blood and lymphatic cancers.
Market cap: $12.9 billion
See the rest of the story at Business Insider