With so many generic companies buying one another, could Barr Pharmaceuticals be next? That’s the speculation today on Wall Street, where the drugmaker’s shares rose the most since August. The stock rose $3.31, or 6.3 percent, closing at $55.52. And trading in options to buy shares increased to 18,892 contracts, about 29 times the 20-day average, Bloomberg News reports.

“With the shares up and implied volatility up, it’s definitely indicative of a potential takeover,” Noah Ament, an equity derivatives strategist at Strategic Option Consulting, tells Bloomberg. “That’s what people are trading on.” Says Marc Weinberger, head trader at W. Quillen Securities: The advance reflects “`takeover rumors. Private equity would be attracted to the strong cash flows and prospects in the business due to the strong pipeline in both branded and generic markets.”

But Ronny Gal, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, says that unconfirmed takeover rumors have circulated about other generic drugmakers, including Watson Pharmaceuticals. “Given the level of rumors in this sector I think the rumor is not correct. It’s summer, volume is low, and you can move things around.”