When Barington Capital Group in October reported a stake of more than 2 percent in Darden Restaurants Inc with a vow to shake up the company, another investment firm was caught off guard.Starboard Value LP, which takes stakes in companies that it perceives to be undervalued with the hopes of making changes, had studied the restaurant chain for six months as a potential target and was waiting for the right moment to pounce.But news of Barington's investment sent stocks sharply higher that month, forcing Starboard to wait another two months until shares fell back. In December, it went public with its 5.6 percent position just after Darden reported weak earnings.A few months prior to that, an activist fund was preparing to go public with proposals to shake up Aeropostale Inc and was amassing a stake, only to learn that Sycamore Partners had taken an 8 percent stake in the teen clothing retailer.
Aeropostale, Inc., (Aeropostale) is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and men through its Aeropostale stores and 4 to 12 year-old kids through its P. Shares of ARO fell by 20.14% or $-1.47/share to $5.83. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $5.83 and as high as $17.10. On average, 3797120 shares of ARO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 37471136.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a full service restaurant company. Shares of DRI traded higher by 0.43% or $0.21/share to $49.22. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $44.78 and as high as $55.25. On average, 1809880 shares of DRI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1233285.
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