Barclays advised shares of two chipmakers: they will benefit from the release of the foldable iPhone

Investment bank Barclays has recommended buying mid-cap semiconductor manufacturers Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo. They could benefit from the release of the foldable iPhone, which is due to go on sale in September 2026, analysts said.

Investors should pay attention to the shares of Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo, says Barclays, the opinion of which is quoted by CNBC. On Wednesday, April 22, the investment bank improved recommendations on securities of both companies from "hold" to "buy", and also raised target prices for them, Yahoo Finance shows.

Thus, the new target for Skyworks Solutions shares is $70, which is 16.6% higher than the previous target price from Barclays. It also provides for a potential upside of 13.3% to the value of the company's securities at the close of trading on April 22.

The target price of Qorvo shares was raised by 5% to $100 per share. This is 17.6% higher than their value on April 22.

The growth potential of both companies is linked to the expected release of a foldable iPhone model, explains Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley. Apple plans to start selling the new model in September, at the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Bloomberg wrote in April, citing sources.

New smartphones typically have more advanced features than their predecessors, requiring chips with complex components - such as those from Skyworks and Qorvo, O'Malley explains. However, he notes, Apple's strategy of releasing more affordable iPhones and MacBooks could undercut the manufacturer's traditionally strong sales in November and December. But going forward, it will be difficult for investors to "remain pessimistic," says the Barclays analyst.

Barclays' view contradicts the Wall Street consensus forecast.

The most popular rating for Skyworks shares is "hold" and it was assigned by 18 analysts. Another seven advise buying the company's securities and two advise selling them. The average target price is $63.8, which means the stock has a potential upside of just over 3% from the last closing price.

Qorvo securities are advised to hold by 19 Wall Street analysts, three believe they should buy and one recommends selling. The average target of $84.75 corresponds to the current quotations.

On Monday, April 20, investment bank Mizuho worsened recommendations on shares of both companies and now advises to sell them. Analysts cited difficulties in supply chains and cell phone industry forecasts, The Fly writes. Earlier CNBC, citing analysts' estimates, reported that in 2026, the smartphone market may see the sharpest decline in history due to a shortage of chips.

The launch of the foldable iPhone is an important initiative by Apple as it seeks to expand its smartphone lineup with new designs, more expensive models and improved features, Bloomberg writes.

Information that Apple is working on a folding smartphone appeared in January 2021. It was expected that it could appear on the market in 2024, but due to difficulties in production, this date was moved to 2026, the Independent writes.

In early April, Nikkei Asia reported on Apple's problems in the engineering testing phase of the iPhone Fold and the possible postponement of the launch of this model to 2027, but Bloomberg's sources said the launch is still planned for September.

The agency notes that the new model will allow Apple to compete with Samsung as well as Chinese smartphone makers, which have been offering foldable devices for years.