According to The Wall Street Journal report, activist investor Elliott Investment Management has acquired a considerable portion of Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) stock. Following this news, shares experienced a surge of around 6% pre-market today.

The report further mentioned that Elliott Investment Management is engaging in discussions with potential candidates for director positions, with the intention of contesting in a proxy battle. Although the exact size of the stake was not disclosed, it was described as "significant" by the WSJ. Catalent has set July 29 as the deadline for nominations for director candidates.

Elliott's efforts to bring about changes coincide with the departure of the company's CFO in April and operational challenges that caused a significant decline in Catalent's shares a few months ago.