Synaptics Stock Jumps On Report China Group Eyeing Apple Chip Supplier
Shares in Synaptics ( SYNA ), a supplier of touchscreen driver chips for Apple ’s ( AAPL ) iPhone, jumped on reports that it’s in talks to be acquired by a state-backed Chinese investment group. Synaptics stock traded as high as around 91 on Thursday; shares were still up 8% to 88 in the afternoon on the stock market today . Synaptics has an IBD composite rating of 91 out of a possible 99. Aside from making devices for Apple — its chips control iPhone displays — San Jose-based Synaptics supplies touchscreen and biometrics technology to South Korean mobile phone makers Samsung and LG as well as Chinese companies Huawei and Lenovo. It also makes sensors that read fingerprints. According to a Bloomberg report , the state-backed Chinese investment group and Synaptics are still negotiating the sales price, which could value the company at around $110 per share. The Chinese group includes insurance companies and financial institutions, as well as a semiconductor fund backed by Beijing-based BOE Technology, said the Bloomberg report.