New York, February 11, 2026, 07:04 EST — Premarket
- Kenvue up 0.9% at $18.32 ahead of the open; Kimberly-Clark up 1.1%
- SEC Form 4 shows Kenvue’s chief people officer auto-exercised expiring options; shares were withheld for taxes and costs
- Traders eye the delayed U.S. jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET and Kenvue’s Feb. 17 results
Kenvue shares edged higher in premarket trade on Wednesday, moving with gains in prospective buyer Kimberly-Clark as investors waited for key U.S. data later in the morning. Kenvue was up 0.9% at $18.32, while Kimberly-Clark rose 1.1% to $105.88.
That linkage is the point right now. Kenvue, the former Johnson & Johnson consumer-health unit, agreed to be bought by Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark in a cash-and-stock deal that makes Kenvue’s stock sensitive to swings in Kimberly-Clark shares. Under the terms announced in November, Kenvue shareholders would receive $3.50 in cash and 0.15 Kimberly-Clark shares for each Kenvue share held. (Reuters)
At current prices, that package implies roughly $19.38 per Kenvue share, leaving Kenvue about $1.06 below the headline value — a gap that reflects time to close and deal risk. Both companies’ shareholders approved the transaction in late January, and the firms have said they expect it to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. (Kenvue)
Kenvue also has a near-term catalyst that isn’t about the merger spread. The company is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results after market close on Feb. 17, but it said it will not hold a quarterly conference call while the Kimberly-Clark transaction is pending. (Kenvue)
A Form 4 filing — the disclosure executives file when their holdings change — showed Kenvue Chief People Officer Luani Alvarado exercised 85,534 stock options at $13.76 on Feb. 6. Kenvue withheld 71,581 shares at $18.13 to cover the exercise price and taxes, and the filing said no market transactions occurred. (Sec)
The stock is also brushing up against a dividend date. Kenvue’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.2075 per share, payable Feb. 25 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Feb. 11, the company said. (Kenvue)
Outside the deal, macro data could do the heavy lifting later in the morning. The delayed U.S. payrolls report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with economists expecting a 70,000 rise in January jobs and the jobless rate steady at 4.4%, according to a Reuters preview; the Labor Department’s schedule shows January CPI is due Friday. (Reuters)
The risk case hasn’t gone away, even with the shareholder votes done. Proxy advisor ISS said last month “on balance, support for the transaction is warranted,” but pointed to the negative market reaction and uncertainty around litigation tied to Kenvue products. (Reuters)
For now, traders will keep watching the gap between Kenvue’s stock and the implied offer value, which shifts with Kimberly-Clark’s share price. Any sign the regulatory timetable is slipping would likely show up there first.
