As previously reported, Evercore ISI analyst C.J. Muse upgraded Lam Research (LRCX) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC), each to Outperform from In Line, citing his view that there are both company and industry specific catalysts that will lead the Semiconductor Equipment stocks higher into year-end. The analyst, who laid out sustained leading edge investments at TSMC (TSM), Samsung (SSNLF) spending in logic and ongoing catch-up by Intel (INTC) as among the key drivers of upside, noted that he now rates all four front-end equipment companies at Outperform as he also has that rating on ASML (ASML) and Applied Materials (AMAT). Also as previously reported, Muse upgraded Western Digital (WDC) to In Line from Underperform and raised his price target for the shares to $50 from $30, stating he sees near-term earnings upside being balanced by long-term structural concerns. He raised his price target on Lam shares to $250 from $195 and increased his KLA-Tencor target to $175 from $140.

BofA analyst Vivek Arya raised the firm's price target on Lam Research to $1,000 from $970 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Lam "delivered a solid beat and raise" with growth expected to accelerate into the second half of the calendar year, says the firm, which adds that it is "beginning to see the green shoots of NAND recovery."

TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Lam Research to $1,000 from $975 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said NAND recovery is off to a good start with two consecutive quarters of 25-30% sequential growth and other vectors are also showing growth.

Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini lowered the firm's price target on Lam Research to $850 from $880 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm said they posted a good print and guidance as its report and commentary were inline with Susquehanna's preview.

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Ansys (ANSS) announced a collaboration with TSMC (TSM) on multiphysics software for TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engines. COUPE is a cutting-edge Silicon Photonics integration system and Co-Packaged Optics platform that mitigates coupling loss while significantly accelerating chip-to-chip and machine-to-machine communication. TSMC COUPE, along with Ansys multiphysics solutions that are integrated with Synopsys' 3DIC Compiler unified exploration-to-signoff platform, enables the next generation of silicon photonics and co-packaged optics designs for applications in AI, datacenter, cloud, and HPC communications. The work spans multiple areas, including fiber-to-chip coupling, integrated electronic-photonic chip design, power integrity verification, high-frequency electromagnetic analysis, and critical thermal management.

Notable companies reporting after the market close, with earnings consensus, include Meta Plataforms (META), consensus $4.32... IBM (IBM), consensus $1.60... ServiceNow (NOW), consensus $3.14... Lam Research (LRCX), consensus $7.30... Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), consensus $11.68... O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), consensus $9.26... Ford Motor (F), consensus 42c... United Rentals (URI), consensus $8.32... Align Technology (ALGN), consensus $1.97... Molina Healthcare (MOH), consensus $5.59... Teradyne (TER), consensus 33c... Universa Health Services (UHS), consensus $3.16... Western Union (WU), consensus 41c.

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.