UBS upgraded the Semiconductor sector to Neutral from Cautious on its belief the semis SOX index has factored in the cyclical concerns facing the industry after having underperformed the S&P by 11% year-to-date. UBS believes the semi cycle will hit trough levels between Q4 and Q1 and notes that some of the more defensive, large cap names, including Intel (INTC), TSMC (TSM) and Samsung (SSNLF), have reached attractive levels. In addition to TSMC and Samsung, the firm lists Avago (AVGO), Infineon (IFNNY) and Nvidia (NVDA) among its most preferred semi stocks. Among its least preferred in the space, UBS lists Linear Tech (LLTC), Qualcomm (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM).

Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. HIGHER AFTER EARNINGSAudioEye (AEYE) up... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Argus raised the firm's price target on TSMC to $160 from $130 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst cites the company's Q1 earnings and revenue beat, stating that while the stock sold off on cautious company guidance for industry demand growth in 2024, the firm still expects solid company growth as inflation recedes and electronic device demand picks up. Throughout a down 2023, demand for the company's 5nm products remained strong, and TSMC has successfully ramped 3 nm node products, the firm added.

Berenberg upgraded STMicroelectronics to Buy from Hold with a price target of EUR 49, down from EUR 53. The semiconductors market us "not too far from recovery," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the negative industry end market trend is now priced into shares and concerns about Chinese auto semiconductor localization are overdone. Also, auto semi content growth should continue, driven by vehicle digitization, contends Berenberg.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Intel Foundry Phase Three of its Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes - Commercial, or RAMP-C, program, the company announced. "The award was announced through the National Security Technology Accelerator's consortium-based Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems Other Transaction Authority program. The third phase of RAMP-C advances the tape-out and testing of early defense industrial base product prototypes, signifying a critical milestone for the program that highlights the readiness of Intel 18A process technology, intellectual property and ecosystem solutions for high-volume manufacturing. As part of the announcement, RAMP-C customers can begin manufacturing commercial and DIB product prototypes on Intel 18A process technology," Intel stated. Reference Link

Friday's total option volume of 56.7 million contracts resulted in net open interest growth of 6.01 million calls and 5.28 million puts. NVIDIA (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) saw the greatest growth. Top five new positions opened include 50k Lyft (LYFT) May-24 20 calls, 44k Energy Transfer (ET) 4/26 weekly 16.5 calls, 43k Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Sep-24 41 calls, 23k Tesla (TSLA) 4/26 weekly 162.5 calls and 21k Papa John's (PZZA) Jun-24 57.5 puts.

SoftBank (SFTBY) is planning to spend Y150B, or $960M, by 2025 to boost the number crunching power at its computing facilities to develop world-class generative artificial intelligence, Nikkei Asia's staff writers report, citing sources. The company's computing power is likely to be among the highest in Japan once the investment is complete and graphics processing units will be bought from Nvidia (NVDA). Reference Link