RealMoney

Today's noteworthy downgrades include: Amazon.com (AMZN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust... Arrow Electronics (ARW) downgraded at BofA/Merrill... Avnet (AVT) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow... BlackBerry (BBRY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... Cliffs Natural (CLF) downgraded to Sell, price target cut to $2 at Axiom... Cowen Group (COWN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura... Delphi Automotive (DLPH) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham... DiamondRock (DRH) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley... Energy XXI (EXXI) downgraded to Hold from Buy at KLR Group... F5 Networks (FFIV) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays... Lazard (LAZ) downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna... Lennar (LEN) downgraded at Buckingham... Live Nation (LYV) downgraded to Market Perform from Overweight at Albert Fried... MGM China (MCHVF) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan... Quality Systems (QSII) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital... Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS... Sands China (SCHYY) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan... TSMC (TSM) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at Pacific Crest... The Fresh Market (TFM) downgraded at BofA/Merrill... WESCO (WCC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T... Wynn Macau (WYNMF) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Ansys (ANSS) announced a collaboration with TSMC (TSM) on multiphysics software for TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engines. COUPE is a cutting-edge Silicon Photonics integration system and Co-Packaged Optics platform that mitigates coupling loss while significantly accelerating chip-to-chip and machine-to-machine communication. TSMC COUPE, along with Ansys multiphysics solutions that are integrated with Synopsys' 3DIC Compiler unified exploration-to-signoff platform, enables the next generation of silicon photonics and co-packaged optics designs for applications in AI, datacenter, cloud, and HPC communications. The work spans multiple areas, including fiber-to-chip coupling, integrated electronic-photonic chip design, power integrity verification, high-frequency electromagnetic analysis, and critical thermal management.

Argus raised the firm's price target on TSMC to $160 from $130 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst cites the company's Q1 earnings and revenue beat, stating that while the stock sold off on cautious company guidance for industry demand growth in 2024, the firm still expects solid company growth as inflation recedes and electronic device demand picks up. Throughout a down 2023, demand for the company's 5nm products remained strong, and TSMC has successfully ramped 3 nm node products, the firm added.