TSMC Stock Edges Lower Despite Barclays’ Bullish Stance, Price Target Cuts For Qualcomm, Intel, AMAT: Retail Sentiment Cools

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) edged lower in mid-day trade on Friday after a surge in pre-market session, while other semiconductor stocks headed higher.

However, according to a report by TheFly, analysts at Barclays are the most bullish on TSMC than other semiconductor stocks.

They noted that TSMC’s growth is higher than expected, and its capital expenditure is also ahead of expectations.

For context, TSMC reported robust earnings during the fourth quarter with net income of $11.38 billion, edging past the $11.29 billion forecast, according to Koyfin.

TSMC’s earnings per share (EPS) came in at $2.24, ahead of Wall Street estimates of $2.20.

Analysts at Barclays raised their price target for TSMC to $255 from $240, with ‘Overweight’ rating, citing artificial intelligence (AI) as a strong driver of growth.

On the other hand, the brokerage reduced its price targets for other semiconductor players like Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), Intel Corp. (INTC), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), KLA Corp. (KLAC), and others as part of its outlook for the semiconductor sector for 2025.

Here are the price target actions of Barclays for other semiconductor players.

• Qualcomm Inc. ($164.47): New price target of $185, from old price target of $200.
• Intel Corp. ($21.22): New price target of $23, from old price target of $25.
• Applied Materials Inc. ($190.59): New price target of $200, from old price target of $225.
• KLA Corp. ($759): New price target of $700, from old price target of $750.

Note: Current market price as of 1:15 p.m., Jan. 17, 2025

However, retail sentiment on Stocktwits around TSMC dipped to ‘neutral’ (47/100) territory from ‘extremely bullish’ after the company announced its earnings yesterday.

With the TSMC stock dropping slightly, one user on the platform recommended buying the dip.

In the meantime, a media report suggested that Intel is the subject of a buyout interest – this sent the chipmaker’s stock soaring by over 8% at the time of writing, with retail sentiment on Stocktwits surging rapidly to the ‘extremely bullish’ (94/100) territory at the time of writing.

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