Alkermes Plc ( NASDAQ: ALKS ) rose 2.6% amid speculation that activist Sarissa Capital Management could target the company in a possible proxy battle after a win on Tuesday against Amarin ( AMRN ).
Sarissa, which is one of Alkermes ( ALKS ) biggest holders with 14 million shares, has been pressuring he company since at least 2021. In April 2021 Alkermes reached and agreement with Sarissa , which is led by Alex Denner, that gave the activist the right to designate a board member.
Sarissa could look to wage a proxy war against Alkermes at this year's annual meeting now that it won 7-board seats in a battle with Amarin ( AMRN ) on Tuesday, Gordon Haskett's Don Bilson highlighted in a note.
Sarissa, Amarin's largest shareholder, had seven of its backed individuals elected to the board and current chairman Per Wold-Olsen tossed. The new board will have 15 members and a new chairman will be selected.
Sarissa said in the October that it continues to believe Alkermes ( ALKS ) is "significantly undervalued" and that CEO Richard Pops "remains an impediment to the creation of shareholder value" at the company.
Alkermes ( ALKS ) in November said it was exploring breaking off its development-stage oncology business into a separately traded company. The separation, if consummated, is expected to be completed in the second half of the year.
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Alkermes gains amid speculation Sarissa could wage proxy battle after Amarin win