Key Highlights

  • Skyworks Solutions shares slipped even as B. Riley reportedly raised its rating to Buy with a $107 price target.
  • Semiconductor investors favored companies tied to AI data centers, including Marvell Technology, AMD, Broadcom and Nvidia.
  • Skyworks makes radio-frequency chips used in smartphones, giving it more exposure to handset cycles than to AI infrastructure.
  • Chip-equipment makers and storage stocks also fell the same day, while Intel declined without a verified catalyst.

Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS), a maker of radio-frequency chips used in smartphones and other wireless devices, slipped on Tuesday, October 6, even as the S&P 500 pushed to a record. The move came despite a reported upgrade: B. Riley reportedly raised its rating on the stock to Buy and set a price target of $107.

Intraday market data showed Skyworks trading lower, leaving it among the S&P 500 names that failed to join the broad advance. No company announcement explaining the decline was found.

Upgrades do not always lift a stock on the day they are published. Sometimes the view is already partly reflected in the price, sometimes the call reaches only a limited audience, and sometimes broader sector flows simply overwhelm a single broker's opinion. On Tuesday, sector flows appeared to matter more.

Where the Chip Money Went

Semiconductor investors had a clear favorite: companies tied to artificial-intelligence data centers. Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) soared after raising its fiscal 2028 Revenue outlook to $20 billion at its Investor Day in New York. AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) climbed to a record, its chief executive saying Demand for compute continues to outrun supply, and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and networking names such as Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) and Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) also moved sharply higher. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) edged up to a record close.

Outside that circle, the picture was weaker. Chip-equipment makers including KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials slid, and Intel also fell without a verified catalyst. Memory and storage stocks came under pressure too, with Seagate and Western Digital tumbling on worries about competition in hard drives.

Skyworks sits in a different corner of the chip world from the AI winners. Its products help phones and connected devices send and receive signals, so its Business depends more on handset cycles and consumer electronics demand than on the build-out of large computing clusters. That distinction may help explain why it did not share in the day's enthusiasm.

The Broader Market

The overall tone was firm. The S&P 500 rose 44.98 points to a record 7,818.93, and the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record just under 27,600, although decliners outnumbered advancers on the Nasdaq, a sign of narrow leadership. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 253 points to 51,521.28, while the Russell 2000 slipped. Treasury yields eased, and the VIX Volatility index fell to about 15.

A market strategist described a session where investors were focusing on the extraordinary Earnings growth being delivered by AI names, a backdrop that has rewarded the companies seen as most exposed to AI spending.

Smartphone Demand Will Be the Real Test

Investors will be watching whether other Brokers follow B. Riley in turning more positive on Skyworks, and whether the shares can find support once the rotation toward AI-heavy chipmakers cools. The company's next Quarterly Report and any update on smartphone demand will be key tests of the upgraded view.