Canaccord analyst T. Michael Walkley lowered his price target for Qualcomm (QCOM) to $90 from $105, saying the recent court decision ruling in favor of the FTC that Qualcomm was in violation of antitrust law with respect to its lawsuit filed in 2017 creates uncertainty for the long-term QTL business. While it is difficult to determine the timing of a potential stay and how Qualcomm will renegotiate licensing deals, Walkley tells investors in a research note that he believes the recent agreement with Apple (AAPL) is binding despite the judge's ruling and notes this ruling covers standard essential patents and many of Qualcomm's licensing deals cover Qualcomm's entire patent portfolio. The analyst maintains a Buy rating, despite the ruling creating increased uncertainty on Qualcomm's future royalty rates, ability to collect if customers decide to stop paying during a potential required renegotiation, and scope of changes potentially made to its global licensing agreements.

Qualcomm (QCOM) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal second quarter after the market closes on May 1 with a conference call scheduled for 4:45 pm ET. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

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Benchmark downgraded Skyworks (SWKS) to Hold from Buy and removed the firm's prior price target after the company posted March quarter revenue that matched the Street consensus, but excess market inventories and soft consumer smartphone activity weighed on the company's guidance for the June quarter. Skyworks is likely in the process of seeing its end-market demand bottoming, while its market share position looks positive at most of the leading Android players, but the firm is concerned by the company's loss of about 10% net market share at its largest customer, Apple (AAPL), in its next generation smartphone that is expected to be announced this September, the analyst tells investors. When softer first half market demand is paired with the expected share loss at Apple in the second half, the firm's model suggests an annual revenue decline of about 13.6% in FY24 and then as the iPhone 16 accounts for the bulk of Apple's expected volumes in FY25, the firm looks for Skyworks' sales to be about flat year-over-year, the analyst noted.

Apple (AAPL) has poached at least 36 AI experts from Google (GOOGL) and has created a laboratory in Zurich in an effort to develop new AI models and products, Michael Acton of The Financial Times reports. According to an analysis performed by the Times of LinkedIn profiles, public job postings, and research papers, the company has undertaken a hiring spree over the past few years to expand its AI and machine learning team. Reference Link

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

PayPal (PYPL) is scheduled to report results of its first fiscal quarter before market open on April 30, with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 am EDT. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

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Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. HIGHER - Philips... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Bernstein upgraded Apple to Outperform from Market Perform with an unchanged price target of $195. The shares have de-rated significantly amid a weak iPhone 15 cycle and fears that Apple's China business is structurally impaired, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, the form believes prevailing weakness in China is more cyclical than structural, and notes that historically Apple's China business has exhibited much higher volatility than Apple overall, given its "very feature-sensitive installed base." Bernstein believes replacement cycle tailwinds and incremental generative artificial intelligence features set up Apple well for a strong iPhone 16 cycle. Tactically, expectations are low entering the company's fiscal Q2 results, it adds. The firm tells investors to "buy the fear."