Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer says NXP Semiconductors announced it is selling its non-core standard products business to a consortium of Chinese investors, with the transaction expected to close in first quarter of 2017. Schafer says the standard products divestiture should accelerate NXP Semiconductors' strategic transformation, lower leverage, improve the margin profile, and free capital for accretive M&A. The analyst reiterates an Outperform rating and $100 price target on the shares.

Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland raised the firm's price target on Impinj (PI) to $150 from $140 and keeps a Positive rating on the shares. The firm said they posted a solid print with additional upside driven by the licensing win from NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). Customer engagements and new RFID markets continue to broaden the opportunity.

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.