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Mergers and acquisitions activity has surged in 2025, with a 29% increase in deal value.
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Goldman Sachs predicts another 15% rise in M&A deals in 2026, boosting candidate valuations.
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It flagged a list of firms it sees as M&A targets. Here are the six it thinks are most likely to get bought.
Mergers and acquisitions activity has picked up in 2025, and the burst of dealmaking has rewarded companies in dealmakers’ crosshairs.
This week marked a particularly momentous development in the world of M&A, with Electronic Arts set to be taken private by a group of investors in what will be the largest leveraged buyout ever. The stock soared on the news, up more than 20% in the two days since the news was announced.
EA is the biggest and most recent example, but other stocks have soared on M&A excitement this year, too. Moreover, there’s a whole universe of stocks that might get acquired in the next 12 months that investors should have on their radar.
A basket of stocks that could be potential M&A candidates has surged with the fresh wave of deal activity this year, and is beating the S&P 1500 by seven percentage points since the beginning of September, Goldman Sachs said on Monday.
The bank said that the dollar value of M&A deals is up 29% year-over-year, while the number of deals being struck in 2025 has spiked 8%. Goldman expects the number of new deals to grow by another 15% in 2026.
With more dealmaking on tap, the bank highlighted six stocks that it thinks have a 30% to 50% chance of being a target for M&A in the next 12 months. The stocks are the most likely M&A targets among a group of 49 companies the bank considers candidates.
“We expect IPO and M&A activity will increase in 2026 alongside accelerating US economic growth, improving CEO confidence, and a rising equity market,” David Kostin, the bank’s chief US equity strategist, wrote in the note.
Here are the bank’s most likely targets for dealmaking.
Insmed
Ticker: INSM
Sector: Health Care
Market cap: $28.8 billion
Year-to-date total return: 96%
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals
Ticker: MDGL
Sector: Health Care
Market cap: $9.5 billion
Year-to-date total return: 8%
Krystal Biotech
Ticker: KRYS
Sector: Health Care
Market cap: $8.8 billion
Year-to-date total return: 3%
Mineralys Therapeutics
Ticker: MLYS
Sector: Health Care
Market cap: $4.9 billion
Year-to-date total return: 213%
TripAdvisor
Ticker: TRIP
Sector: Communication Services
Market cap: $4.9 billion
Year-to-date total return: 15%
Vera Therapeutics
Ticker: VERA
Sector: Health Care
Market cap: $4.8 billion
