Carl Icahn Updates: Effect on Apple Inc. (AAPL), Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN)’s Rights Plan, Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (DWA)’s Possibility

Editor’s Note: Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Nuance Communications deploys shareholder rights plan as Icahn ownership stake grows (Boston.com)
With activist investor Carl Icahn bearing down, Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) has deployed a new line of defense that could be used to block the billionaire from strengthening his control over the speech recognition powerhouse. The Burlington company behind Dragon software and Siri on the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone enacted a plan Tuesday that would effectively prevent any outside investor from gaining 20 percent ownership of the firm.

Apple Stock Rises. The Icahn Effect? | Apple News (Wall Street Journal)

BREAKING- DreamWorks Spiking on Possible Actavist Stake (Breaking Finance News)
Shares of Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) are up about 3.5 percent after rumors of an activist stake in the company. While all of these rumors are unconfirmed, the activist is believed to be Carl Icahn, according to StockTwits. Icahn has posted nothing to his Twitter account regarding the news. We will update this story as more information comes available.

Apple Should Say iCahn to This Recent Buyback Proposal (DailyFinance)
If you’re getting tired of all the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) news, it’s going to be a long next few weeks. We’re reaching the time of year where tech powerhouses, most notably Apple, take center stage to unveil their latest and greatest products ahead of the all-important fourth-quarter sales spike. However, that isn’t the only storyline that’s finally helped the iEverything maker’s share price break $500 for the first time since January… not by a long shot. In another critical development, billionaire Carl Icahn recently disclosed a stake in the tech giant. And in typical Icahn fashion, he arrived with a plan for how to juice Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price.

Activist investors a force for long-term shareholder gains (Irish Independent)
Here is a sentence I never thought I’d write: hedge funds – activists, to be specific – are a very good thing. There has been a boomlet of activist investing headlines, good and bad. Bill Ackman quit the board of his money-losing project JC Penney last week after a battle over leadership, the same day BeaconLight Capital tore into the management of Jos A Bank, and Carl Icahn announced on Twitter that he had taken a position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and was seeking a bigger share-buyback programme. A mixed bag with plenty of ammunition for activists and also for their critics, who often accuse them of coming in for a short-term pop in shares and then leaving behind weakened companies.