Palm Soars on Rumor and Short Covers
NEW YORK (
) --
Palm
(PALM)
shares took big ride up Wednesday as takeover rumors and so-called short covering had investors loading up on the recently collapsed stock.
While unconfirmed, the speculation in circulation involved a possible interest in Palm by China PC giant
Lenovo
. The rumor adds Lenovo to a list of companies like
Dell
(DELL) - Get Dell Technologies Inc Class C Report
,
Hewlett-Packard
,
Motorola
TheStreet Recommends
(MOT)
and
Nokia
that have been considered potential buyers of the sputtering smartphone shop.
Palm Pre |
Part of the stock move was fueled by shorts, or investors who borrowed shares hoping to repay them at a lower price. The takeover rumor likely triggered a squeeze where investors rushed to buy the stock and then exit their short positions.
Palm came back from the dead last year as new management and new phones looked to have revitalized the company. But so far this year, amid stiff competition from
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Apple Inc. Report
,
Research In Motion
(RIMM)
and
(GOOG) - Get Alphabet Inc. Class C Report
, revenue has tumbled, taking the stock down with it.
Palm shares, which had surged more than 21% at one point Wednesday, ended the regular session up 20% at $4.62.
--Written by Scott Moritz in New York.
