Zacks Research Downgrades Texas Instruments to Hold

Zacks Research cuts its Texas Instruments rating from Strong Buy to Hold

Zacks Research downgraded Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday, according to the report carried by multiple outlets. The shift leaves MarketBeat's consensus rating for the chipmaker at "Hold," with an average price target of $312.12 drawn from one Strong Buy, fifteen Buys, nine Holds and four Sells. Coverage of the action also noted that recent earnings-estimate revisions do not clearly indicate continued strength, leaving TXN sensitive to any slowdown in semiconductor demand or AI-infrastructure spending.

Q2 results and the Q3 2026 outlook under Zacks' lens

Coverage tied the rating change to the company's latest financial print and forward guidance. Texas Instruments reported second-quarter revenue of $5.46 billion, up 22.8% year-over-year, and earnings per share of $2.14, beating the $1.91 consensus by $0.23. Management has guided third-quarter EPS to a range of $2.23 to $2.57, and analysts on average expect full-year EPS of $8.45. Zacks' caution on estimate momentum stands against that backdrop, even as other commentators highlighted a 28% trailing operating cash flow less capital expenditures margin, a stronger, more delevered balance sheet and the company's role supplying analog and mixed-signal chips for data centers, robotics, automotive electrification and factory automation.

Street pricing and the $271 trading reference

Coverage catalogued a range of competing broker views alongside the Zacks action. Benchmark lifted its target from $315 to $360 with a "buy" on Thursday, July 23, while Wells Fargo raised its target from $300 to $310 with an "equal weight" call on the same date and Morgan Stanley moved its target from $230 to $255 with an "underweight" rating. Stifel Nicolaus lifted its target from $340 to $360 on Wednesday, June 24, Susquehanna raised its target from $300 to $340 with a "positive" rating on Tuesday, July 21, Robert W. Baird lifted its target from $300 to $385 with an "outperform" rating on Thursday, July 23, and Arete Research set a $405 target with a "buy" rating on Wednesday, July 29. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating with a $330 target on Thursday, July 23, while Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on Tuesday, July 14. One analytical framework cited in coverage rates the stock Accumulate below $271, Hold between $271 and $345, and Distribute above $345, with TXN opening at $271.41 in the coverage, a 50-day moving average of $271.60 and a 200-day moving average of $265.61.

Capital return and shareholder communications

Separate coverage highlighted shareholder-return actions outside the rating change. Texas Instruments raised its quarterly dividend 7% to $1.52 per share, extending a record of 23 consecutive annual increases. A Form 4-style disclosure cited in coverage shows Vice President Tsedeniya Abraham selling 7,000 shares on Thursday, August 27 at an average price of $264.63, a transaction valued at about $1,852,410 that reduced her position by 23.19% to 23,181 shares.