Semiconductor stocks were in focus on Friday as Mizuho downgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) and tweaked its price targets on a host of other companies, including Micron (MU) and Western Digital (WDC).
The firm cut its rating on Qualcomm to Neutral from Outperform and cut its price target to $175 from $200, noting it has “handset headwinds,” as it is expected to lose share in Apple (AAPL) devices this year and next. Qualcomm shares fell 1.4% in premarket trading.
Mizuho is positive on most of the rest of the sector, at least in the first-half of the year, as the artificial intelligence spending trade is set to continue. “We see potential for a strong 1H26E as AI spend, [wafer fab equipment] and memory cycles all expected to remain strong, powering tier1/2 CSP, enterprise/sovereign AI server ramps,” Mizuho analysts wrote in a note to clients. “Into 2H26E, we see potential challenges with 1) higher volatility around new product launches/ramps with Rubin/ MI400, 2) US midterm elections (11/3/2026), and 3) slower Fed rate cuts.”
The firm’s top picks for 2026 are Nvidia (NVDA), Lumentum (LITE) and Broadcom (AVGO), and it also likes Microchip (MCHP) and Lam Research (LRCX) as “key outperformers.”
In addition, Mizuho also changed its price targets on several stocks. They are as follows:
- Applied Materials (AMAT) was upped to $275 from $245.
- Lam Research was raised to $220 from $200.
- Lumentum was raised to $455 from $325.
- MKS Inc. (MKSI) was raised to $215 from $195.
- Micron (MU) was raised to $390 from $290.
- Nvidia was raised to $275 from $245.
- Onsemi (ON) was raised to $72 from $62.
- Sandisk (SNDK) was raised to $410 from $250.
- Seagate (STX) was raised to $370 from $290.
- Super Micron (SMCI) was lowered to $31 from $45.
- Western Digital (WDC) was raised to $240 from $180.
- Qorvo (QRVO) was cut to $85 from $93.
- Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) was cut to $65 from $73.