Texas Instruments ticks up as Wall Street digests 'ho hum quarter'
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Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) rose fractionally in pre-market trading on Wednesday as Wall Street analysts parsed over the analog semiconductor company's first-quarter results and guidance.
Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland said the report was "about as expected" as customers continue to bring down inventories and there has been no sign of a correction in either the automotive or industrial spaces yet. 
"Our checks and lead-time data suggest these end markets are beginning to slow, which we believe adds risk to [second-half] for broad-based businesses," Rolland, who has a positive rating and a $205 per-share price target on Texas Instruments (TXN), wrote in an investor note.
Rolland added that Texas Instrument's (TXN) management called out weakness in personal electronics, which he suggested may be a "read" on a "weakening" Apple (AAPL), but that any weakness is likely close to a bottom. 
Competitor Analog Devices (ADI) also saw fractional gains on back of TI's results.
Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh trimmed his estimates and maintained his neutral rating on Texas Instruments (TXN) after the results, citing "broad weakness" across all end-markets excluding automotive and a tick down in gross margins to 65.4%, while inventories rose 19% quarter-over-quarter. 
"While [Texas Instruments] leads the industry with market share and solid execution, we believe TXN faces challenges with peak margins, high inventories, and a macro slowdown noted by [gross margins] with potential slowing in China/US into [the second-half of 2023]," Rakesh wrote in a note.
Looking to the second-quarter, Texas Instruments (TXN) said it expects earnings to be between $1.62 and $1.88 per share, with sales forecast to be within a range of $4.17B and $4.53B.
Analysts were expecting second-quarter earnings of $1.83 per share and $4.44B in revenue.
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