Nordstrom stock soars as Ryan Cohen angles for board shakeup, cost cuts

Nordstrom stock jumps as activist investor Ryan Cohen builds a stake in the company.

Video transcript

SEANA SMITH: Time for our "Triple Play," three stocks that we're watching in the final 20 minutes of trading. We've got Nordstrom, Clorox, and Chipotle. My pick today, Nordstrom. And take a look at this stock, shares surging, up 24%. The move coming after activist investor Ryan Cohen took a stake in the company, is now reportedly pushing for changes. Those include a board shakeup and some cost cuts. Now, according to the Journal, Cohen is, once again, targeting Mark Tritton. He's the former CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond. Tritton lost his top role at that company following pressure from Cohen.

Now, in a statement to Yahoo Finance, Nordstrom said, quote, "While Mr. Cohen hasn't sought any discussions with us in several years, we are open to hearing his views, as we do with all Nordstrom shareholders. We will continue to take actions that we believe are in the best interests of the company and our shareholders."

Well, analysts, they're weighing in on this. BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel writing that Cohen, quote, "brings a spotlight that should not be ignored." The team at Gordon Haskett saying, quote, "a refresh at the board level is arguably long overdue." And Jared, by the reaction in the stock today, it looks like the Street agrees.

JARED BLIKRE: Yeah, for the time being. I wonder when Ryan Cohen is going to start buying call options on JWN, the same way he did with Bed, Bath & Beyond. By the way, he never really got on that Bed, Bath & Beyond board, did he? He just kind of-- well, the stock went up, and he sold it near the top, almost exactly--

DAVE BRIGGS: He manipulated it.

JARED BLIKRE: I did-- did you say it? Anyway, it was all perfectly legal. So guess what's going to happen this time? Is he an activist investor? Is he just trading the stock in size? I think it's the latter.