Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 3.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) rose 3.2% on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $500.00 to $510.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $343.45 and last traded at $340.36. Approximately 157,670,441 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 487% from the average daily volume of 26,866,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.88.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $443.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $420.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.58, for a total transaction of $33,958,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 725,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,412,152.04. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 3,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.79, for a total transaction of $1,217,412.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 307,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,709,216.23. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 825,296 shares of company stock valued at $299,151,975 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Broadcom News

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst upgrades and higher targets — Truist raised its price target to $510 and multiple banks lifted targets after the quarter, giving the stock material upside vs. current levels. Truist raises AVGO target to $510
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary — Jim Cramer and other Wall Street commentators have signaled they’re not worried and are constructive on Broadcom’s AI positioning, supporting near-term buying interest. Cramer: not that worried about Broadcom
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and AI revenue guidance boosted confidence — Broadcom reported stronger-than-expected revenue and flagged substantial AI-related demand (analysts/publications highlight multi-billion AI revenue potential and backlog). Broadcom posts blockbuster results, AI revenue forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — Broadcom boosted its quarterly dividend ~10% (to $0.65), which can attract income-oriented and long-term shareholders. Dividend up 10%
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Traders purchased roughly 323,615 call options on Friday (about +11% vs. average), indicating aggressive bullish positioning into or after the news. (options volume report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and DCF work — Independent DCF/intrinsic-value models are being published this week; they provide longer-term context but are unlikely to drive intraday moves. DCF on Broadcom
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple insiders (including Charlie Kawwas, Mark Brazeal and the CFO) disclosed sales of stock in mid-December, which can be interpreted as a modest negative signal to some investors. Insider selling filings
• Negative Sentiment: Large recent sell-off and margin concerns — AVGO plunged roughly 20% from pre-earnings levels amid broader AI/tech volatility and some reported margin worries; that recent volatility is the primary reason for elevated risk despite bullish analyst targets. MarketBeat: 20% sell-off vs analyst optimism
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst note on margin/slump risk — Some coverage highlights margin sensitivity even with booming AI demand; that keeps downside risk if execution or pricing pressures emerge. Zacks: margin concerns

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,579,549,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 65,509,579 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $10,968,270,000 after acquiring an additional 17,985,046 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 483,442,939 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $133,261,046,000 after acquiring an additional 6,222,802 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the second quarter worth $1,571,438,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 499.4% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,634,232 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,858,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 71.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $362.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.08. Broadcom had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 37.45%. The company had revenue of $18.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is 54.62%.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions for a broad range of markets. The company’s semiconductor business provides components and systems for wired and wireless communications, enterprise and cloud storage, networking and broadband access, serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, telecommunications carriers and industrial customers worldwide. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates globally with research, development and sales organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

On the semiconductor side, Broadcom’s portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, radio-frequency and connectivity components, Ethernet switching and PHY devices, storage adapters and controllers, optical transceivers and other networking silicon.