ImClone in Bidding War?

Today, a Reuters report came out that a "large pharmaceutical company" has just offered to buy biotech cancer drug (Erbitux) maker ImClone (IMCL) for $70 per share.  This far exceeds the $60 per share offered for ImClone 6 weeks ago by Bristol Myers-Squibb (BMY).  Shares of IMCL hiked up 7.5% in morning trading to around $68.50, even though the company is still just a "secret admirer."

Well-known billionaire Carl Icahn, the Chairman of ImClone, had earlier declared the Bristol offer "too low," and today's offer seems to justify that stance.  Holders of ImClone from before the initial Bristol offer, when shares were trading in the mid-to-high $40s, have further reason to be cheerful today.

Analysts have been reluctant to revise estimates for ImClone in the past month, and are perhaps waiting to see where this story goes.  Shares are trading at about where they opened the day, but perhaps could go up from here depending on if there is a counter-offer from Bristol or some other interested player in Big Pharma.

Read the full analyst report on IMCL

Read the full analyst report on BMY