Cooper shares rise as Jana Partners builds stake, pushes for changes

Published 20/10/2025, 12:38
© Reuters.

Investing.com -- Cooper Cos. shares rose over 4% in premarket trading Monday after the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Jana Partners built a stake in the company and plans to push for strategic alternatives, including potentially combining its contact-lens unit with rival Bausch + Lomb.

Jana Partners believes Cooper’s two business units lack synergies and will advocate for changes to help lift shares through improved capital allocation and returns. The exact size of Jana’s stake was not disclosed.

The activist investor’s plan already has support from Bausch + Lomb Chief Executive Brent Saunders, who expressed interest in such a combination in an interview.

Cooper Cos. operates through two segments: CooperVision, one of the largest producers of soft contact lenses, and CooperSurgical, which provides products and services for women’s health and fertility.

Jana Partners believes the company’s strategy has generated little value for shareholders, resulting in a more complicated business with poor capital allocation.

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