The brokerage expects sales to slowly grow through the second half of 2011 and into 2012, and recommended investors to start adding position in chip stocks because they are attractive at current levels.

A dreary economy has weakened sentiment for chipmakers recently, as have lingering concerns over supply chain hiccups caused by Japan’s earthquake in March.

Earlier, BofA Merrill Lynch cut its price targets on nearly a dozen chipmakers, saying it expects 2011-12 chip sales to be flat to up 3.9 percent versus a 5.9-11.9 percent increase in the year-ago period.

Both brokerages agreed that wireless chipmaker Broadcom Corp. will benefit from the rapid adoption of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

“We expect the company to enjoy better than average semiconductor revenue growth across all segments in the years ahead supported by new technologies, platforms and increasing attach rates,” Barclays said in a research note to clients.

Barclays maintained its “overweight” rating on Broadcom’s stock.

It also recommended Intel and Altera saying they were performing well despite increased costs and the various problems in the chip industry.

The brokerage raised its ratings on both stocks to “overweight” from “equal weight.”