SYNA stock is heavily shorted
Human interface technology expert Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA) is watching its stock price plummet today, last seen down 17.1% at $35.78. The sell-off comes after the company, on Friday evening, said CEO Richard Bergman is leaving the firm, and its fiscal third-quarter revenue will come in at the lower end of its expected range due to weakness in the Chinese market.
Adding more pressure to the Apple supplier, Mizuho downgraded its opinion to "neutral" from "buy," and dropped its price target to $39 from $48, saying the CEO departure could be a sign of more issues ahead. J.P. Morgan Securities also weighed in with a price-target reduction to $45 from $50. Most analysts already have a skeptical view, based on the six "hold" ratings compared to just four "buy" or "strong buy" recommendations.
SYNA stock is back below the 20-day moving average, which has provided support throughout 2019, and it's set for its first close below the 50-day moving average since mid-January. Meanwhile, this weak price action is what short sellers have been waiting for, with these bears holding one-fifth of the security's total float. Going by average daily trading volumes, it would take short sellers more than five weeks to cover their positions. But due to the price action today, the equity is on the short-sale restricted list.