Synaptics Q2 report touches off spirited buying
Touch-interface technology company Synaptics (SYNA) got a big boost from touchscreens and display drivers for mobile phones in the December quarter. The San Jose, Calif.-based company late Thursday delivered fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings that trounced Wall Street estimates. Synaptics earned $1.46 a share excluding items, up 70% from a year earlier, on sales of $464 million, up 125%, for the quarter ended Dec. 27. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Synaptics to earn $1.22 a share on sales of $449 million. Synaptics stock rose 12% in after-hours trading following the earnings news release. During the regular session, shares climbed almost 2% to 68.31. The Synaptics quarterly report was the first to include its acquisition of Renesas SP Drivers (RSP), completed on Oct. 1. RSP contributed slightly over half the sales Synaptics saw last quarter, Synaptics CEO Rick Bergman told IBD. Without RSP, Synaptics sales would have grown a little…