Intel, Qualcomm, Skyworks stocks rise as Susquehanna upgrades trio
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Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) rose in premarket trading on Thursday as investment firm Susquehanna upgraded the three semiconductor companies on belief that the "bottom" of the chip downturn has past.
"...[W]e believe the acute portion of the contraction has passed, inventory levels [have normalized], and early demand shoots [have appeared]," analyst Christopher Rolland wrote in an investor note.
Rolland moved his rating on Intel (INTC) to neutral from negative, and Qualcomm (QCOM) and Skyworks (SWKS) to positive from neutral.
Regarding Intel (INTC), Rolland said AMD (AMD) looks to no longer be gaining share in the PC space, the Pat Gelsinger-led company has put forth a better product roadmap and executed on it and the hangover in the PC space due to the work-from-home boom during the pandemic and subsequent inventory correction has "run its course."
It's not all fun and games for Intel (INTC), as the company's data center business is seen as a "near-term risk," citing checks in Asia, but the PC business looks to have started to stabilize, which should help the company going forward, Rolland posited.
Qualcomm (QCOM) is likely to keep benefiting from the Chinese economy continuing to reopen, as better handset data in January and February suggest, while also suggesting the move to downmarket smartphones could help. 
Rolland also said the company's business with Apple (AAPL) has been "de-risked" as CEO Cristiano Amon said earlier this month he does not expect the company to continue providing Apple with a modem chip for its iPhones after 2024.
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) is likely to benefit from the push to have content in more Android phones, in addition to already providing content for the iPhone, as well as the unveiling of Wi-Fi 6E technology, Rolland suggested.
Earlier this month, it was reported Intel (INTC) was looking to get as much as $5.3B in subsidies from the German government for its upcoming plant in Magdeburg.
Analysts are overwhelmingly cautious on Intel (INTC). It has a HOLD rating from Seeking Alpha authors, while Wall Street analysts rate it a HOLD. Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates INTC a HOLD.