What Happened?

Shares of kitchen product manufacturer Middleby (NYSE:MIDD) jumped 15.1% in the afternoon session after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist Garden Investments built a ~5% stake in the company and plans to push for changes. This move is noteworthy given that activist investors often bring about significant changes in targeted companies, focusing on improving asset monetization, expense efficiency, and stock buybacks.

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What The Market Is Telling Us

Middleby’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. Moves this big are rare for Middleby and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

Middleby is up 25% since the beginning of the year, and at $167.38 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Middleby’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,467.

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