** Shares of chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NXPI.O rise 3.3% to $218.01 in premarket trading
** Morgan Stanley upgrades NXPI to "overweight" from "equal weight"; hikes PT to $257 from $231
** Brokerage says that cyclical and secular tailwinds are aligning for NXPI
** "With customer inventory digestion largely behind them, we think NXP is set up well to outgrow auto semis in 2025," Morgan Stanley says
** 23 of 32 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 9 "hold"; their median PT is $250
** Stock had fallen 9.5% in 2024
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru)
((HarshitaMary.Varghese@thomsonreuters.com))