Citrix's Stock Shoots Up To 8-month High After Activist Investor Seeks Meeting With Board

Citrix Systems Inc.'s stock shot up 6.4% in morning trade Thursday, to trade above the $70 level for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014, after activist investor Elliott Management requested a meeting with the company's board to share its ideas on how to improve Citrix. Elliott, which said it owns 7.1% of Citrix shares outstanding, believes Citrix's stock price can rise to a range of $90 to $100+, which is 28% to 42%+ above current levels. Elliott's proposals include the exploring alternatives for the company's GoTo and NetScaler workspace services franchises, reducing the cost structure and increasing leverage to provide $4.5 billion to $5.3 billion worth of share-repurchase capacity through 2017. The stock has run up 11% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.