Paul Singer’s Elliott Management fired off a letter to the board of directors of Citrix Systems explaining why it believes the software maker’s stock is worth as much as 50 percent more than its recent price. The New York sometimes-activist, which owns 7.1 percent of the shares, said it estimates the stock can be worth between $90 and $100 or more by the end of 2016. The firm requested a meeting with the board to lay out its plan. “Citrix has leading technology franchises in attractive markets but has struggled operationally for years,” said Jesse Cohn, senior portfolio manager of Elliott, in the letter. “As a result, today Citrix’s operations and product portfolio represent an opportunity for improvement of uniquely significant magnitude.” In the letter, Cohn said it has “identified numerous opportunities” to improve its cost structure, which “will result in both superior revenue performance and a more efficient use of resources.” Elliott also explained why Citrix should separate its strategic assets from its core Workspace Services segment. The stock rose Thursday nearly 7 percent, to $70.39 on the news.
___
ValueAct Capital Management said it sold 4.2 million shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. The stock, which it has held for more than nine years, grew in value to well more than 20 percent of the San Francisco-based firm’s assets, according to a press release, which noted that the firm has sold shares on three previous occasions “for the same portfolio management purposes.” After the sale, the firm will still own more than $3 billion worth of Valeant stock, which will remain one of ValueAct’s largest investments. The hedge fund’s founder, Jeffrey Ubben, will stay on Valeant’s board of directors.
___
Boston-based Adage Capital Partners raised its stake in Anixter International by about one-third, to nearly 1.7 million shares, or 5.11 percent of the total outstanding of the maker of cabling and security products, wires and fasteners.
___
New York-based Corsair Capital Management disclosed it owns nearly 3.7 million shares of Globe Specialty Metals or slightly more than 5 percent of the producer of silicon metal and silicon-based alloys.
___
Oops! Shares of The Men’s Wearhouse surged 5.7 percent to nearly $62 on Thursday after the clothing company beat first quarter earnings estimates and announced it has signed a 10-year agreement with Macy’s to operate men’s tuxedo rental shops inside 300 Macy’s stores. We noted earlier this week that Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital sold more than one million shares of The Men’s Wearhouse for between $57 and $58 per share, reducing its stake to 6.6 percent.
___
Shares of Mannkind plunged for a third straight day, falling about 6.5 percent to $5.71. It is now down nearly 22 percent in three days following our profile of Jason Karp, founder of New York–based Tourbillon Capital Partners, who said he believes the biotechnology company’s stock is “worthless.”
