Activist investor Praesidium takes 5% stake in education software company Instructure
- Activist investor Praesidium Investment Management says it's pushing for changes at education software company Instructure.
- Praesidium manager Kevin Oram says despite the company's big investments in new business, its stock looks cheap.
Activist investor Praesidium Investment Management said Tuesday that it's taken a new stake in cloud-based education software company Instructure.
Praesidium manager Kevin Oram, who filed a 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, said that despite the company's big investments in new business, its stock looks cheap. Oram detailed the investment from 13D Monitor's 2019 Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York.
Praesidium owned about 5%, or 1.8 million shares, of Instructure as of April 15, according to the government filing. Shares were up 6.3% Tuesday afternoon.
Instructure is best known for its Canvas platform, which offers schools and universities a system through which professors and administrators can store student records, input grades and schedule courses. According to the company's website, Canvas is used by more than 3,000 universities, school districts and institutions around the world.
Activist investors often build positions in what they view as undervalued companies with the goal of advocating for key changes, though Oram added that Praesidium typically lobbies for changes in private discussions with management.