By Tae Kim
Stocks in the semiconductor industry offer attractive buying opportunities even after the sector's big run this year, according to Jefferies.
On Sunday, analyst Blayne Curtis said Broadcom, Nvidia, and KLA Corp. are among his best chip stock ideas for 2026. He has Buy ratings on all three companies.
"Sticking with AI into 2026 as ASICs [application-specific integrated circuits] inflect and hyperscaler capex accelerates (AVGO Top Pick)," he wrote. "AI should lift Semi Cap, driving demand."
The analyst has price targets for Broadcom, Nvidia and KLA Corp of $500, $250, and $1500, respectively.
In early trading Monday, Broadcom stock was down 4.3% to $344.53, and Nvidia had risen by 0.3% to $175.55. KLA shares were up 2% to $1218.11.
Broadcom's semiconductors compete in several categories, including networking, broadband, server storage, wireless, and industrial. The company is a leader in the market for high-end AI ASICs, a category that includes Google's Tensor Processing Units, which have been seen as a less expensive alternative to Nvidia chips for some uses.
Curtis expects demand for Broadcom's AI semiconductors will beat expectations in the future. "We continue to see Custom ASICs as [the] driving factor of outperformance but would be remiss not to mention the substantial opportunity for networking [chip] growth," he wrote.
Last week, Broadcom reported better-than-expected earnings for its October quarter, but the stock fell on uncertainty over the size and scope of future customer orders.
The analyst is also optimistic about Nvidia based on the strength of its coming chips. "We view fears for NVDA as largely overdone with Blackwell Ultra rollout fully underway, Rubin on track to ramp in 2H26," he wrote.
He also raised his rating for KLA to Buy from Hold. Demand for AI chips will increase spending on chip-manufacturing equipment, Curtis said.
Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com
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December 15, 2025 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
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