Arm shares gain after Wall Street brokerages begin coverage with "Buy" ratings

Investing.com -- Shares in Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) edged higher in early trading on Wall Street as investors weighed a series of top ratings of the chip designer from several major brokerages.

The recommendations brought an end to a customary quiet period for Arm's underwriters following its highly-anticipated initial public offering last month, which garnered $4.87 billion for the company's owner SoftBank (TYO:9984) in the largest listing so far this year.

Arm, which holds a near-monopoly in terms of share of the lucrative smartphone market, has been hit by a recent downturn in demand for the devices.

But in notes to clients, a raft of key brokerages initiated their coverage of Arm with "Buy" or equivalent ratings, citing optimism around the firm's plans to generate revenue through elevated royalty fees and focus on building its presence in cloud and automotive markets.

"We believe these strategic shifts and the higher royalty rates they can command should accelerate the company's revenue growth and further expand the valuation premium at which the company historically traded, based on the uniqueness and ubiquity of its technology ecosystem as well as the highly profitable and predictable nature of its business model," analysts at Deutsche Bank said, giving Arm a "Buy" rating and a price target of $60.

Goldman Sachs, who set a price target of $62, also predicted that Arm would continue to bolster its smartphone dominance through the increased royalties.

Other analysts at Citi, Mizuho and TD Cowen also delivered price targets of between $60 to $70, with JPMorgan taking the most bullish view.

Arm shares, which debuted at a price of $51, were exchanging hands at $55.01 as of 09:50 ET (13:50 GMT).