CNBC’s Jim Cramer pushed viewers away from the usual semiconductor and hyperscaler chatter. Instead, he highlighted a group he says has quietly become the market’s leader. “There is a move in biotech that we have not talked about at all that is really extraordinary, and particularly since the change at the head of the FDA,” Cramer said. He added that “if you look at that chart, this is the group that’s the hottest group in the market.”
The data backs him up. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (NYSEARCA: IBB) is up 16.06% year to date and 19.15% over the past month, versus 9.22% YTD for the S&P 500. Over the past year, IBB has returned 51.45%.
This is Why Deals are Coming
Cramer laid out the classic biotech playbook.
“You have many companies that get close to, if not having data that confirms a drug in a particular area. And more often than not, they don’t want to have to spend the money on a sales force… And they sell, right, usually at quite an inflated price.” He pinned the recent freeze on regulators, noting that under the prior administration takeovers were sparse after an Amgen deal “was almost blocked.” With the FDA leadership change, Cramer said his sources expect deals to “be flooding the market.” And that investors should be long biotech, a call he “has not said in ages.”
Lilly is the checkbook
The clearest evidence is Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY | LLY Price Prediction), the $1.16 trillion pharma giant that has already announced four acquisitions in Q1 2026. That includes Orna Therapeutics (cell therapies), Centessa Pharmaceuticals (sleep-wake disorders), Kelonia Therapeutics (in vivo CAR-T), and Ajax Therapeutics (myelofibrosis). That deal cadence is being funded by an obesity and diabetes franchise firing on all cylinders. Mounjaro revenue reached $8.66 billion (+125%). Zepbound hit $4.16 billion (+80%) in Q1, helping Lilly deliver EPS of $8.55 on $19.80 billion in revenue, up 55.5% year over year, per its SEC filing. Shares are up 13.34% YTD and 56.86% over the past year.
The other names in the picture
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) sits at the center of Cramer’s regulatory reference. The $27.8 billion Horizon Therapeutics deal cleared only after antitrust scrutiny. In addition, Amgen is now pushing its own MariTide obesity Phase 3 program. Q1 2026 revenue rose 5.8% to $8.62 billion, with IMDELLTRA sales up 219%.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) is the model Cramer describes: a company using tuck-in M&A (Alpine Immune Sciences, which was acquired for $4.9 billion) to build a fourth franchise in nephrology on top of cystic fibrosis.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY) is a prime example of a biotech company with a powerful technology platform. Driven by the strong launch of AMVUTTRA for ATTR-CM, the company’s total TTR drug franchise revenue surged 153% year-over-year to $910 million. Because of this momentum, management expects full-year 2026 product revenue to hit between $4.90 billion and $5.30 billion. Despite these strong financial milestones, the stock has underperformed its peers. This gap between the company’s strong business performance and its lagging stock price creates a classic market dislocation. As a result, Alnylam is a highly attractive takeover target for major pharmaceutical companies.
What to watch
Jim Cramer’s market thesis relies on two key factors: the FDA continuing to approve major biotech mergers and cash-rich giants like Eli Lilly maintaining their aggressive acquisition pace. However, this positive outlook may already be baked into the market. For the sector to launch its next leg higher, the market will likely need to see more buyout announcements to re-energize investors.
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