By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners built a new stake in U.S. banking technology company Alkami Technology ALKT.O during the third quarter, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
By building the position, the hedge fund is signaling its interest in the company and that it has committed significant resources. Some activist investors have been pushing their target companies to consider strategic alternatives, including a sale, and there has been interest among buyers in the financial technology space in which Alkami operates.
THE DETAILS
Alkami Technology offers cloud-based digital banking solutions that can be used to open accounts, fraud protection and data analytics.
The size of Jana's stake could not be determined.
It is unclear whether Jana will press for changes or what its requests may be.
The stake may be confirmed later on Friday when Jana files its quarterly 13-F filing, which shows what assets managers held in U.S. stocks at the end of the previous quarter.
A representative for Jana declined to comment while Alkami Technology could not be immediately reached for comment.
THE NUMBERS
Plano, Texas-headquartered Alkami has a market value of roughly $2 billion.
Its shares have fallen 46% over the last 12 months and traded at nearly $20 on Friday.
The stock price tumbled after Alkami paid to acquire account opening solution provider MANTL, saw growth decelerate in the second quarter and cut revenue guidance in the third quarter.
Wall Street analysts, who believe in the company's products, have assigned a median price target of $32.56, a premium of roughly 60% on its current stock price.
THE BACKGROUND
Alkami investor General Atlantic, which owns 11% of the company and has a seat on the board, made an updated regulatory filing in August, switching from a passive ownership position to an active one.
General Atlantic's August filing says it plans to seek change or influence control at Alkami, including through a possible strategic transaction.
Buyers have been interested in the financial technology space, with Centerbridge announcing a $2 billion acquisition of MeridianLink in August.
Jana has successfully pushed for changes at companies in the space. New Relic, in which Jana won board seats in a settlement, was acquired by TPG and Francisco Partners, and Frontier Communications Corp., in which Jana called for a sale, is being acquired by Verizon Communications.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-BaylissEditing by Dawn Kopecki and Rod Nickel)
((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net/))