Why Is COO Stock Up in Premarket Today? Jana Partners Takes Stake in Cooper

Shares of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: COO) surged 6.29% in premarket trading to $76.50 as of 5:45:22 AM EDT on Monday, October 20, 2025, following reports that activist investor Jana Partners has built a stake in the medical devices maker. The Wall Street Journal reported that Jana Partners is pressing for strategic changes, including a potential deal to combine Cooper’s contact lens unit, CooperVision, with rival Bausch + Lomb.

This activist involvement comes at a time when Cooper’s stock has struggled, falling more than 20% year-to-date and trading at a market capitalization of approximately $14 billion.

Activist Seeks to Unlock Value Through Portfolio Restructuring

Jana Partners has taken a position in Cooper Companies and is urging the company to explore strategic moves that could unlock shareholder value. The activist investor believes Cooper’s two main businesses—CooperVision, which manufactures contact lenses, and CooperSurgical, which sells women’s health and fertility products—are too different to work well together. Jana contends that the company’s capital allocation has not created sufficient value for investors, particularly as profits from the women’s health division have declined following recent acquisitions that have yet to deliver returns.

The activist is calling for Cooper to review its corporate structure and consider selling or spinning off one of its units to sharpen focus and improve returns. Jana Partners has a proven track record in driving corporate transformations, having previously orchestrated successful campaigns at Frontier Communications, Markel, and Lamb Weston that resulted in sales, board changes, or comprehensive corporate reviews. Cooper reported $3.9 billion in total sales in 2024, with approximately two-thirds coming from CooperVision, but the company’s shares have underperformed significantly compared to peers.

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Merger Speculation Adds Momentum to Activist Campaign

Adding fuel to the activist campaign, Bausch + Lomb CEO Brent Saunders has publicly expressed openness to combining the contact lens businesses of the two companies. Saunders, known for his dealmaking expertise, characterized such a combination as a way to build a stronger competitor in the contact lens market. Bausch + Lomb, with a market capitalization of around $5.3 billion, competes directly with CooperVision, as well as Johnson & Johnson and Alcon in the eye care space. A merger could create a larger player with enhanced scale and pricing power, though it would likely face regulatory scrutiny.

The potential deal has captured investor attention as a possible catalyst for Cooper’s struggling stock. Analysts currently rate Cooper Companies as a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $79.45, implying approximately 10% upside from the previous closing price of $71.97. However, the stock has significantly underperformed the S&P 500, declining 21.71% year-to-date compared to the index’s 13.30% gain. Investors will be closely watching for any announcements regarding talks between Cooper and Bausch + Lomb, as well as management’s response to Jana Partners’ demands for improved capital allocation and strategic focus.

Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.