Staff Reports
Activist Trading Dynamics
Number 1030
September 2022 February 2023

JEL classification: D82, G14, G23

Authors: Doruk Cetemen, Gonzalo Cisternas, Aaron Kolb, and S. Viswanathan

Two activists with correlated private positions in a firm's stock trade sequentially before simultaneously exerting effort to determine the firm's value. A novel linear equilibrium exists in which trades have positive sensitivity to initial positions but are nonzero on average: the leader strategically moves the price to induce the follower to acquire more shares and thus add more value. We examine this equilibrium's implications for market outcomes and its connection with the prominent phenomenon of “wolf pack” activism, whereby multiple hedge funds target the same firm. We also explore the possibility of equilibria in which activists trade against their initial positions.

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Author Disclosure Statement(s)
Doruk Cetemen
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

Gonzalo Cisternas
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

Aaron Kolb
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

S. Viswanathan
The author declares that he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.

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