Wells Fargo analyst Gary Mobley started coverage of Microchip with and Outperform rating and a $105 price target. The analyst believes management's efforts to pay down debt following the Microsemi acquisition as well as efforts to drive additional EPS accretion from the acquisition will be contributing factors to share price outperformance. Additionally, when the chip industry re-enters a growth phase, Microchip should experience outsized EPS growth due to the company's financial and operating leverage, he contends.

BofA raised the firm's price target on Texas Instruments (TXN) to $190 from $175 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. TI's small Q1 beat and inline but sequentially rising Q2 sales guidance, "while modest, potentially marks a recovery inflection in industrial chip demand," with positive read-across for U.S. peers such as Analog Devices (ADI), Microchip (MCHP), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) and On Semiconductor (ON), the analyst tells investors. However, despite an expected recovery, TI's sustained high capex intensity could keep reported calendar year 2024-26 pro-forma EPS below $6 per share, the analyst added.