Shares of CVS Health Corp. rose after a report that activist investment firm Starboard Value LP had taken a small stake in the drugstore chain and held talks with management.

Shares of the company, which runs almost 10,000 drugstores across the U.S., closed up 1.7 per cent Monday after the the Wall Street Journal’s report.

The Journal described the stake in CVS as small, and said the two firms had held amicable discussions. Representatives for Starboard and CVS didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

CVS has been transforming itself into a vertically integrated health-care company, with a pharmacy-benefit management unit and a health insurer, Aetna. It’s also transforming stores into so-called health hubs, where people can get medical services.