Dan Loeb‘s Third Point LLC trimmed its Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE:CRS) stake in the second quarter, ahead of a leadership shake-up and a cooling rally that followed in the weeks after.
A Reduced Position
According to its 13F filing, a quarterly report of investment holdings that must be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 45 days after the end of each quarter, Third Point sold 95,000 shares of Carpenter Technology. This reduced its stake by 31%, from 310,000 shares in the first quarter of 2026 to 215,000 shares.
The filing, which was made public in August, covered positions as of Jun. 30. Carpenter Technology’s share price rose from $394.15 at the end of the first quarter to $616.84 at the end of the second quarter, an increase of approximately 56.5%.
Despite holding fewer shares, Third Point’s remaining stake in the Philadelphia-based specialty alloy manufacturer increased in value by 9% from the previous quarter, rising from $122.2 million to $132.6 million.
Leadership Turmoil Followed
Brian Malloy, whom the board had named incoming chief executive officer, died suddenly in July, about three weeks after assuming the role. Tony Thene has remained in place as chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Weeks later, on Aug. 11, two directors notified the board of their upcoming departures. Colleen Pritchett said she would not stand for re-election, while Howard Yu said he would step down as a director. Both departures are effective at the company’s Oct. 6 annual meeting.
Insider Selling Follows
On Aug. 21, director Ramin Younessi sold $216,001 worth of stock. Later, Thene sold 109,283 shares worth about $52.9 million in 21 transactions. He said the sales were for estate planning, tax planning and financial diversification.
Thene still holds about 466,700 shares.
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Stock Performance
Not everyone was cautious about the situation. On Aug. 14, the same day Third Point’s filing became public, CNBC’s Jim Cramer recommended buying Carpenter Technology on "Mad Money." He pointed to the company’s newly announced $1 billion share buyback program.
Carpenter Technology shares have surged over the past year on strong aerospace and defense demand. The stock is up 32.49% year-to-date and 9.83% over the past six months, though it has pulled back 16.62% over the past month.
The company has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a 52-week high of $625.99 and a 52-week low of $228.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that Carpenter Technology stock is experiencing long-term upward movement along with medium and short-term consolidation.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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