HPE shares rise after activist Elliott Management takes $1.5 billion stake

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose 4% after Elliott Investment Management built a more than $1.5 billion stake in the server maker, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.

The activist investor hopes to engage the company in discussions on how to improve shareholder value, the source said.

Elliott and HPE declined to comment on the news.

Shares of the data center equipment maker have lost more than a fourth of its value this year. Last month, the company topped quarterly revenue expectations but issued weak fiscal full-year guidance. HPE said it was grappling with higher discounting and expected price adjustments to weigh on its top-line growth.

Elliott has a long history in pushing for changes at some of the world’s largest companies, including Salesforce, Southwest Airlines and Starbucks.

Most recently, the investment management firm took a $1.5 billion stake in industrial software maker Aspen Technology, and said it opposed a deal that would allow Emerson Electric to buy remaining shares of the company in a $7.2 billion deal. In March, the firm named nominees to join the board of oil company Phillips 66, where it has amassed a $2.5 billion stake.

HPE is currently attempting to buy Juniper Networks for $14 billion, but the U.S. Department of Justice sued to block the deal earlier this year.

Bloomberg first reported the news.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Elliott took a $1.5 billion stake in HPE. A previous version of the story misstated the amount.