Starboard Value disclosed a $500 million stake in Autodesk
Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) is up 4.6% to trade at $236.11 today, after the Wall Street Journal reported Starboard Value, which disclosed a $500 million stake in the company, is suing Autodesk's board while simultaneously pushing for changes. The firm alleged that the board perpetuated an "entrenchment scheme" and "misled investors," with hopes to nominate new members shortly.
On the charts, today's pop had ADSK jumping back above its 200-day moving average for the first time since a steep mid-April bear gap. The stock suffered an 18.3% drawdown in April amid an accounting probe announced on April 1, and -- prior to today -- spent the last two months consolidating below $225. Year-to-date, the shares remain down 3.2%.
So far, overall options volume is running at triple the intraday average. The June 185 put and 240-strike call are the most active contracts, while new positions being bought to open at the June 235 put. These options are reasonably priced at the moment, too, per ADSK's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25%, which ranks in the low 12th percentile of its annual range.