Jefferies turns bullish on Renishaw and XP Power as chip cycle powers on

What Brokers Say Tech Written by: Ian Lyall 12:15 Fri 11 Sep 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Renishaw PLC ( LSE:RSW ) View Price & Profile Jefferies turns bullish on Renishaw and XP Power as chip cycle powers on Published: 12:15 11 Sep 2026 BST Jefferies has upgraded Renishaw PLC (LSE:RSW) and XP Power Ltd (LSE:XPP) to 'buy', betting that a longer and stronger semiconductor cycle will drive further earnings upgrades at both companies. The broker also lifted its long-standing 'underperform' rating on Halma PLC (LSE:HLMA) to 'hold', while keeping Oxford Instruments PLC (LSE:OXIG) at 'hold', in a note published on Wednesday covering the semiconductor exposure across its UK industrials coverage. Renishaw PLC (LSE:RSW) , the precision measurement and healthcare technology group, saw its price target raised sharply to 6,090p from 3,450p, implying 20% upside. Jefferies expects semiconductor demand to drive mid-teens organic revenue growth, most of it flowing through the group's highest-margin Position Measurement division, and sees mid-20% profit margins as achievable for the first time since 2022. XP Power, which supplies power units to chipmaking equipment firms including Applied Materials and Lam Research, had its target lifted to 2,330p from 1,870p, offering 30% upside. The broker said the company is firmly in recovery, with first-half order intake up 50% year on year and its balance sheet no longer a concern. Halma, whose Avo Photonics arm supplies optical components used in data centres, was upgraded after a sharp de-rating since April. Jefferies said the stock now trades at a 49% premium to the wider UK industrials sector, the lowest since March 2018, and set a 3,660p target for 3% total shareholder return. The analysts argued the market is right to value Avo Photonics below the rest of the group given its heavy reliance on a single unnamed hyperscaler customer. Oxford Instruments kept its hold rating, with the target nudged up to 3,000p from 2,590p for 8% upside. The broker cited limited growth outside semiconductors and stalled progress towards the group's 20% margin target. Underpinning the calls is what Jefferies described as an unprecedented chip upturn, now stretching to 34 consecutive months of growth and fuelled by data centre construction. It noted July sales rose 135% against already strong comparisons. Jefferies flagged that Renishaw's non-semiconductor operations trade at 16.6x earnings, the cheapest of the four names and a 25% discount to Oxford Instruments, despite similar margins and what it called more favourable end-market support. Continue reading