Benzinga | Feb 3, 2021 12:05PM EST

Oppenheimer Upgrades NXP Semiconductors On Auto Strength

While NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) reported its fourth-quarter sales ahead of the consensus estimates, the upside would have been even higher if the company had not faced supply constraints, according to Oppenheimer.

The NXP Semiconductors Analyst: Rick Schafer upgraded NXP Semiconductors from Perform to Outperform, while keeping the price target unchanged at $210.

The NXP Semiconductors Thesis: Although the company may continue to witness some supply constraints through 2021, these should ease with a ramp in capacity, Schafer said in the note.

"Auto and industrial are expected up 25%/50%, respectively, in 1Q. Mobile growth remains robust on greenfield UWB and growing wallet attach. Comms is expected to accelerate in 2H, as 5G BTS deployments pick up and GaN PA mix grows," the analyst wrote.

Core auto and industrial sales, which account for around 70% of the company's total sales, are likely to benefit as the global economy rebounds, Schafer said. "NXPI shares also benefit from any further cyclical/value rotation," he added.

NXPI Price Action: Shares of NXP Semiconductors had declined by 1.2% to $175.08 at the time of publication Wednesday.

(Photo: NXP Semiconductors)