Shares of Aratana Therapeutics have recovered off earlier session lows and moved into positive territory after The Deal reported, citing people familiar with the situation, that activist investor Engaged Capital is increasing its stake in the company because Engaged’s Glenn Welling believes there is a good chance the company could sell itself. Welling, who has “quietly hiked” Engaged’s stake in Aratana to 4.9%, thinks the pet drug company will seek to sell itself shortly, The Deal stated, according to contacts. The Fly notes that in October Dealreporter said that the company was working with Barclays as a financial advisor to explore its strategic alternatives. According to the report from the deal-focused news service, Aratana previously committed to activist investor Engaged Capital that it would appoint a board committee to conduct a strategic review by no later than July 1 and the company has been following the cooperation agreement’s timeline. In morning trading, Aratana shares are up 10c, or 2.4%, to $4.24.