Pacific Crest analyst Michael McConnell laid out his case for why he believes Skyworks (SWKS) should acquire Maxim Integrated (MXIM). Such a merger would provide Skyworks with "compelling long-term diversification" away from mobile and into data center and automotive end markets, McConnell tells investors today in a research note. The analyst's accretion estimates assume a deal price of $44 per share for Maxim. The stock closed yesterday up 37c to $36.54. With a stock and debt deal, he believes a fair value for Skyworks would be $130 per share. The stock closed yesterday up $1.38 to $77.85. His current fair value estimate for the shares is $100. McConnell believes an acquisition of Maxim would make the most sense, but points out M/A-Com Technology (MTSI) and Silicon Laboratories (SLAB) are other potential acquisitions for Skyworks.

Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley lowered the firm's price target on Silicon Labs to $120 from $140 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The company's revenue is rebounding off of December bottom and a recovery is underway, but operating expenditures ticked up and the margin miss make return to profitability a bit of a longer road, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

As previously reported, Summit Insights downgraded Silicon Labs to Hold from Buy. While stating that Silicon Labs' March quarter results and June quarter outlook "clearly support our view of a recovery from the industry downturn and inventory correction after an extended period of customers' double ordering," the firm also believes a recovery is now priced into the share price and expects the stock to be an inline performer.