An intriguing AI play is emerging as the new year approaches, according to Wells Fargo – CNBC
Wells Fargo is betting that under-the-radar tech stock Synaptics is a rising force in artificial intelligence. Analyst Joe Quatrochi initiated Synaptics with an overweight rating and $95 price target, implying about 29% potential upside from the stock’s Friday close price. Shares of Synaptics are down nearly 4% year to date. Quatrochi said that shares of Synpatics are trading at attractive risk-reward levels heading into 2026 as the company transitions toward becoming an Internet of Things, or IoT, chip supplier. Synaptics — which has been primarily known for supplying chips and components for mobile phones and laptops — is now shifting its focus toward the rapidly growing IoT market, positioning itself as a leader in edge AI. IoT devices include smartwatches and smart appliances that are always on and need wireless connectivity, using edge AI to perform on-device processing in real time rather than relying on the cloud. “Synaptics continues to transform from a mobile / PC chip supplier to addressing a burgeoning edge IoT oppy [opportunity],” Quatrochi said in a Dec. 19 note to clients. Citing Gartner data, the analyst estimated that the addressable edge AI compute market is worth roughly $5 billion this year and will grow at a 30% compound annual growth rate to over $13 billion through 2029. SYNA 1Y mountain Synaptics stock performance over the past year. Quatrochi is particularly excited about Synaptics’ AI-native embedded compute platform for edge IoT devices called Astra, which essentially provides the processing hardware and other tools needed to run AI directly on smart devices. Synaptics’ partnership with Google is another catalyst for the stock, he said. The companies announced a partnership in January 2025 to integrate Google’s open-source machine-learning core into Synaptics Astra AI-Native hardware. “While early innings of edge AI, we think Synaptics is well positioned to deliver differentiated integrated solutions — leveraging its new Astra family of processors & Google collab w/ strong wireless & sensing offerings,” Quatrochi wrote. “We view demand / pipeline updates of the Astra Edge AI platform as a key driver of the stock as customer samplings have already driven design wins w/ initial rev in 2HC2026,” he added. Analysts polled by LSEG are overwhelmingly bullish on Synaptics and have a consensus price target that suggests the stock can climb 16%. Of the 14 analysts covering the company, 10 rate shares a buy and four maintain a hold rating.
