Barnes & Noble shares jump on speculation it will have a role in anticipated Apple tablet

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Barnes & Noble shares jump on Apple tablet rumors

SAN FRANCISCO — Shares of Barnes & Noble jumped on Tuesday as investors speculated that the bookseller would have a role in the e-reading aspects of the tablet computer expected from Apple Inc.

CL King & Associates analyst William Armstrong said, in a note to investors, that the stock’s rise was tied to rumors that the company will have a “material role” in the expected new tablet product, but he also said there is a “high likelihood that this rumor will prove false.”

But that did not stop investors from driving up shares of New York-based Barnes & Noble by $2.11, or 12 percent, to $19.49, in afternoon trading.

Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said the company does not comment on rumors.

Cupertino, Calif. Apple will not comment on what it plans to unveil Wednesday in San Francisco, but it appears likely to be a tablet — a one-piece computer with a big touch screen that is smaller than a typical laptop.

Most of the attention focused on the device centers around Web-surfing and video-watching, but such a product from Apple could challenge Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle e-reader and give a boost to the publishing industry.

Fueling the rumors was a report from the TechCrunch Web site that there will be a Barnes & Noble bookstore built into the Apple Tablet. TechCrunch said the companies are “thought to be working closely together.”

A call to Apple Inc. seeking comment on the rumors was not immediately returned.

If the rumor is true, CL King’s Armstrong said it could benefit the bookseller, but that he didn’t see why Apple would need Barnes & Noble — or another third party — to secure e-book content. For that reason, the analyst said the big run-up in the stock price is “an opportunity to take profits.”