UPDATE: Credit Suisse Upgrades Xilinx to Outperform, Raises PT

In a report published Monday, Credit Suisse Group upgraded its rating on Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) from Neutral to Outperform, and raised its price target from $37.00 to $42.00.

Credit Suisse noted, “We are upgrading XLNX to Outperform from Neutral and are raising our 12-month TP to $42 from $37. We are upgrading our rating for three reasons: (1) We prefer Industrial/Auto/Infrastructure (I/A/I) exposure in 2013 as we see a better relative growth profile to the more consumer oriented sectors in Semiconductors especially the handset supply chain - XLNX has greater than 90% of their business in non-consumer end markets. (2) While we see flattish Infrastructure CapEx for 2013, we see a mix shift towards equipment and expect a recovery of spending especially in developed economies - XLNX has 46% exposure to Wireless/line Infrastructure and is better exposed to developed markets. (3) We see a narrowing of the gap at 40nm and a more balance market share picture at 28nm which should allow XLNX to outperform ALTR on a relative basis. We are mindful of the increasing cost of Moore's Law but see 2013 as a more modest R&D year while 20nm pilot technology matures. While we expect a reset to all Semiconductor estimates during 4Q12 Earnings - we see a better recovery off the bottom from XLNX than most other companies in our coverage universe.”

Xilinx closed on Friday at $35.80.