Shares of Greater Bay Bancorp jumped 11.6% Thursday after the company postponed its first-quarter earnings report.
The stock jumped under similar circumstances last summer.
The $7.4 billion-asset East Palo Alto, Calif., company, a perennial target of takeover speculation, gave no explanation for the delay, announced late Wednesday. It did say it will release the results by the deadline to file its 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Greater Bay has a string of community banks ringing the San Francisco Bay that is considered an attractive asset. It is in the midst of a strategic review that some analysts say could trigger a sale of ABD Insurance and Financial Services, the insurance company it acquired in 2002.
Byron A. Scordelis, Greater Bay's chairman and chief executive officer, did not return a call for comment Thursday.
Shares of Greater Bay gained 6% in the final days of July. According to analysts, that surge was partly the result of takeover speculation fueled by the company's failure to set a date for its second-quarter earnings report. On Aug. 1 the company said the report would be delayed to complete an accounting review.
