Share of pharma major Ranbaxy ended marginally down on Friday despite opening the day on a buoyant note. The buzz is that some traders have been
accumulating the stock over the past few weeks. Initially, it was thought that the buyers were betting on strong quarterly earnings.

The numbers disappointed and the stock crashed, but also managed to recoup the gains. There was some more disappointment in store this week, as the company failed to win the US FDA approval for one of its drugs. But the fall in share price has not been as sharp as some market watchers were expecting.

The buzz is that Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo, the current owner of Ranbaxy is looking to delist the company shortly by making an open offer to minority shareholders, and that traders have been accumulating the stock in anticipation of the offer being at a significant premium to the market price. When contacted, a Daiichi spokesman denied any plans to delist the company (Ranbaxy) by way of an open offer.