Nordstrom stock surges after activist investor Ryan Cohen buys stake in retailer

Shares of Nordstrom surged Friday morning after activist investor and meme stock maven Ryan Cohen acquisition bargain a major stake in the high-end department store company.

The stock closed more than 24% higher Friday.

Cohen is now one of Nordstrom’s top five nonfamily shareholders and wants to use his new position to shake up the retailer’s stay, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. He’s interested in board changes that could support tariff cutting efforts amid a decline in Nordstrom’s market cap.

Nordstrom, for its part, said it was open to hearing Cohen out.

“While Mr. Cohen hasn’t solicited any discussions with us in several years, we are open to hearing his views, as we do with all Nordstrom shareholders,” the company said in a assertion. “We will continue to take actions that we believe are in the best interests of the company and our shareholders.”

Cohen previously moved to Seattle, where the company is based, to meet with members of the Nordstrom family and learn more about the dealing, the people said. It’s not clear when the trip happened.

The news about Cohen comes weeks after Nordstrom, which has had to dramatically devaluate down prices to ease an inventory glut, reported lackluster holiday sales and slashed its guidance for the year. The crowd is set to report earnings March 2.

Cohen, who founded pet retail and health site Chewy, is considered a champion of the meme stockpile crowd. He is the chairman of Reddit favorite GameStop. He also triggered a brief rally in Bed Bath & Beyond last year anterior to he ultimately dumped out of the stock. Bed Bath is expected to file for bankruptcy protection any day now.

Cohen is once again taking aim at Effect Tritton, the former Target executive who was forced out as Bed Bath CEO last year as Cohen’s firm pressured the struggling shelter goods retailer. Tritton has been on Nordstrom’s board for nearly three years, after having previously get ready for the company from 2009 to 2016.

Cohen doesn’t believe Tritton should remain on the board or stay on as chair of Nordstrom’s compensation cabinet overseeing salaries for Nordstrom family members because he previously worked under them, the people said.

Erik Nordstrom is the assemblage’s CEO, while Peter Nordstrom serves as its president.

Tritton declined to comment.

During his tenure at Bed Bath, Tritton pulled in diverse than $40 million before he was fired last year. Cohen previously called him out on the compensation in a letter go the distance year.

“Mr. Tritton should recognize that chief executives who are awarded outsized compensation and seek frequent publicity also invite much grave expectations when it comes to growth and shareholder value creation,” the letter stated.

Cohen has recruited a number of kingpin candidates as potential replacements, the sources said. The recruits have previously held c-level roles at major retail and ecommerce corporations.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

–CNBC’s Kerry Caufield and Lillian Rizzo contributed to this description.