Cooper Cos. Stock Rises as Report Says Activist Investor Takes Stake

Jana Partners plans to push for strategic alternatives at Cooper, The Wall Street Journal reported. (Dreamstime)

Key Points

• Activist investor Jana Partners has acquired a stake in Cooper Cos. and intends to advocate for strategic changes, according to a report.
• Jana Partners may propose a merger of Cooper’s contact-lens division with Bausch + Lomb, a competitor.
• Cooper’s stock is rising Monday. It has declined 22% in 2025.

Shares of Cooper Cos. rose Monday following a report that said an activist investor planned to drive changes at the struggling medical device maker.

Activist investor Jana Partners has built a stake in Cooper and plans to push for strategic alternatives, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Jana may seek a deal to combine Cooper’s contact-lens segment with competitor Bausch + Lomb, the report said. Bausch + Lomb CEO Brent Saunders told the Journal he would be interested in such a combination.

Barron’s has reached out to both Cooper and Jana for comment.

Cooper stock jumped 4.2% in premarket trading Monday. The stock has fallen 22% in 2025 as of Friday’s close. Constant-currency revenue growth is expected to decelerate for the third consecutive year.

Jana believes Cooper’s vision and women’s health units—its two main business segments—lack synergies, the Journal reported. The investment fund thinks there are potential buyers for each business unit, the report added.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com