Specialty-semiconductor stocks, Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:SWKS) and Qorvo, Inc. (NASDAQ:QRVO), have been downgraded by Citi analysts following concerns over increased competition from China. However, the stocks of Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) remain rated as Buy.
As reported by Barron’s, Citi analysts have revised their ratings for Skyworks and Qorvo to Sell from Neutral, also reducing their price targets to $87 and $78, respectively, from their previous $116.
The downgrade was triggered by the “increased China substitution risk” following the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 phone, which Citi believes uses domestic radio frequency and connectivity chips. The phone’s main chip, manufactured on a 7-nanometer node, marks a significant advancement in China’s domestic mass-market consumer device semiconductor industry.
Skyworks and Qorvo’s sales in China have been on the decline for the past year due to weakening smartphone demand. Citi analysts ...