Kenvue Stock In Focus As TOMS Capital Reportedly Pushes For Sale Or Breakup: Will It Shift Retail Mood?

Earlier this month, the company appointed three new directors, including Starboard Value CEO Jeffrey Smith, to its board as part of an agreement with the activist hedge fund after months of back-and-forth.

Kenvue Inc. (KVUE) shares will likely draw investor attention Monday morning following a Bloomberg report over the weekend that TOMS Capital had built up an undisclosed stake in the consumer health company and is urging the management to consider a complete sale or separation of some assets.

The report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter, comes close to the heels of Kenvue fighting off another activist investor.

Earlier this month, the company appointed three new directors, including Starboard Value CEO Jeffrey Smith, to its board as part of an agreement with the activist hedge fund after months of back-and-forth.

Starboard, along with its affiliates, owns about 22 million shares, or roughly a 1.1% stake, according to Reuters.

Kenvue also named Profitero President Sarah Hofstetter and former head of Bayer's consumer health division Erica Mann as new independent directors.

The Bloomberg report did include other details, including the deliberations between the company and TOMS Capital and a timeline for the suggested changes.

TOMS has earlier run successful activist campaigns at Kellanova and WillScot Holdings Corp.

Kenvue, which owns popular healthcare brands including Band-Aid, Tylenol and Listerine, was spun out of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) in 2023.

Since it began trading independently, Kenvue's stock market value has dropped about 13% to $44.76 billion.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for the shares ended Friday on an 'extremely bullish' note, largely unchanged from a week back.

Shares trade at $23.31, up 9.2% year to date. As of press time, Monday's pre-market trading hadn't begun.

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