Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) Trading Up 6.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Synaptics shares rose 6.7% in midday trading to about $99.71, although trading volume was roughly 80% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $123.91, with several firms recently lowering targets or downgrading their ratings.
• Synaptics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.23 in EPS versus $1.21 expected and $308 million in revenue versus $305.32 million expected; revenue increased 8.9% year over year despite a negative net margin.

Synaptics Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $99.38 and last traded at $99.7110. Approximately 171,090 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 871,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on SYNA shares. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Synaptics from $160.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Northland Securities lowered Synaptics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Synaptics in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Synaptics from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Synaptics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.91.

Synaptics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.87 and a beta of 1.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $107.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The software maker reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.32 million. Synaptics had a positive return on equity of 4.37% and a negative net margin of 41.00%.Synaptics's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Synaptics Incorporated will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synaptics news, insider Lisa Bodensteiner sold 6,056 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.62, for a total transaction of $627,522.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,634 shares in the company, valued at $8,148,055.08. This represents a 7.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Vikram Gupta sold 4,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.49, for a total transaction of $404,133.73. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,191 shares in the company, valued at $9,372,557.59. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,867 shares of company stock worth $1,624,996. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synaptics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synaptics in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Synaptics by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 349 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Synaptics in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Synaptics in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synaptics in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. 99.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Synaptics

Synaptics Incorporated NASDAQ: SYNA is a fabless semiconductor company that develops technologies for human-machine interaction, connectivity and edge computing. Its solutions are used in consumer electronics, automotive systems, enterprise equipment and other connected devices.

The company's products include touchpads, touchscreens, fingerprint sensors, display and video interface technologies, and related human-interface solutions. Synaptics also develops wireless connectivity products, including technologies supporting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other connected-device applications, as well as semiconductor platforms designed to enable edge artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Synaptics serves customers and original equipment manufacturers globally.

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