Billionaire Carl Icahn Initiates Major Activist Position in Hologic

Billionaire Carl Icahn has recently added Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) to its equity portfolio, a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed. Mr. Icahn reported holding 34.2 million shares of the company, the stake amassing 12.63% of the company’s common stock. The new position is activist by nature, so we should expect Icahn to engage in negotiations with the Board regarding Hologic’s activity. At the current stock price of the company, the value of Icahn’s holding amounts to $760.97 million.

At the same time, the filing stated that Icahn purchased the shares of Hologic since it considers the company undervalued. The “hedgie” also plans to discuss with the management of the company regarding possibilities to increase the shareholder value of the company. And since Icahn’s position is significant, he might consider proposing a person to represent him on the board.

Amid the move, the stock of Hologic gained over 9% in pre-market trading. Since the beginning of the year, the share price of the company increased by more than 11%, trailing a forward P/E of 14.xx.

Right before Icahn revealed acquiring the position in Hologic, the company announced that it received a notification from the billionaire regarding his intentions. The company, which is engaged in development and manufacture of diagnostic and surgical products, has approved a one-year-long shareholder rights plan. Through to the plan, the board wants to make sure that a person or a group will not gain control of the company through open-market purchase of shares. The board also plans that the shareholder plan will help Hologic to develop its strategic initiatives and build long-term value for its shareholders, the company said in a statement.

According to our database, several hedge funds aside from Carl Icahn and Icahn Capital, hold long positions in Hologic. John Osterweis‘ Osterweis Capital Management owns around 3.4 million shares, followed by Sectoral Asset Management, led by Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom, and Stephen Dubois‘ Camber Capital Management, which hold some 2.7 million shares, and 2.0 million shares respectively.

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