JANA Partners is urging The Cooper Companies to launch an external search for a new CEO, appoint a new board chair, add independent directors, revise executive compensation metrics and consider asset sales. The investor asked Cooper to engage potential buyers for CooperVision and evaluate sales of the fertility and medical device businesses within CooperSurgical. The demands follow Cooper’s decision to end a review of CooperSurgical options without a sale, reduce annual forecasts and report inflated channel inventory affecting CooperVision’s growth outlook. JANA also criticized aggressive share repurchases before the negative developments, roughly $750 million invested in CooperVision during 2023 and 2024, and the removal of 2026 segment-level performance indicators from executive incentive plans. Cooper shares rose 3.02% to $55.40 Friday when the letter was made public. JANA owns about 3.58 million Cooper shares, or a 1.8% stake, and has previously said the stock underperformed peers and reached a 10-year valuation low.