Until Jan. 7, most investors had never heard of a small biopharmaceutical firm based out of Stamford, Ct.

But they certainly paid attention to Loxo Oncology Inc. (Nasdaq:LOXO) and its medicines for patients with genetically defined cancers after its stock jumped more than 66% that day.

Of course, within minutes, the average retail investor was locked out of the action.

That’s because shares of this once-obscure biotech leader leapt on news of an $8 billion buyout from Eli Lily & Co. (NYSE:LLY). See, the biopharma giant is shelling out the money to gain access to Loxo’s cutting-edge cancer treatment.

As important as the news is for life sciences investors, in all candor I probably wouldn’t be bringing it to your attention if this was just a one-off.

That’s because this was the third major biotech takeover in just a few weeks’ time.

And when I say major… the total price tag for all three deals… was a cool $83 billion.

Talk about a sector on fire with mergers and acquisitions.

Which leads me to the theme at hand…

Finding a good way to profit from of all of this M&A activity in the life sciences sector… without getting blindsided by these eye-popping deals, like we saw with the Loxo Oncology takeover.

So today, I’m going to let you in on how to profit from takeovers in the space, with an investment that has already rallied nearly 21% from its recent low…

Check it out…

Whenever I want to know what’s happening in the legal cannabis market, I don’t have to go very far.

After all, I live in the hills near Oakland, Calif., which has served as the epicenter for the legal marijuana industry since 1996, when California approved medical use.

This place is all about legal cannabis.

There’s even a district downtown known as Oaksterdam, which is lined with several legal cannabis retail outlets, not to mention a patient co-op and a marijuana school. Plus, nationally known cannabis industry research firm, the Arcview Group, is based there as well.

So I’m happy to report that, on a visit to a couple of stores last week to talk to sales folks and get their take on how things are going, I got a very upbeat report. Data is not yet available, but retailers say sales are up sharply.

And, like me, they’re expecting a great 2019.

After a rocky start to its recreational market in 2018, that California comeback is one of the reasons why I think we will see a very robust year for the industry nationwide.

Check out what I see in store…