Rubicon Technology, Inc. Gains On Speculation It Could Supply Apple Inc.

Rubicon Technology, Inc. RBCN shares jumped 16 percent Tuesday on speculation the company could supply sapphire to Apple Inc. APPL.

The price movement comes a day after GT Advanced Technologies Inc GTAT unexpectedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while attempting to launch sapphire production at a Mesa, Arizona, factory under an agreement with Apple.

Rubicon provides sapphire for smartphones, as well as for light-emitting diodes and optical systems and computer chips.

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Mobile devices including Apple have made increasing use of sapphire because scratch resistance and sensitivity for "touch" functions. The touch sensitivity is key to ensuring the effectiveness of the fingerprint recognition security recently incorporated by Apple.

Apple's iPhone 6 doesn't use sapphire screen display, but the company plans to use the material in its Apple Watch expected to launch in 2015.

"We believe that the use of biometrics could increase in coming years, which could increase demand for sapphire," Rubicon has said. "We can also make rectangular blocks ready to be sliced into smartphone face plates and custom shapes such as smart-watch face plates."

GT had been attempting to shift its focus from a supplier of equipment used in the production of sapphire and other crystals used in electronics to a maker of the materials.

Rubicon counted as its two largest customers last year Peregrine Semiconductor Corp, which makes radio-frequency chips, and Nanjing J-crystal Photoelectric Technology Co., which makes products for light-emitting diodes.

The company also has counted as customers LG Innotek, Tera Xtal Technology Corp. and Crystalwise Technology, but has never mentioned Apple.

Raja Parvez abruptly stepped down as Rubicon chief executive last month after a string of steadily widening quarterly losses.

Rubicon traded recently at $4.61 per share, up 15.2 percent.