Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Up 3.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shot up 3.4% on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $276.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $257.50 and last traded at $257.24. 10,235,026 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 30,750,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.71.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on AVGO. Mizuho upped their price objective on Broadcom from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.00.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 720,576 shares of company stock valued at $131,249,694 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Broadcom by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,220,137 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $79,900,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,534 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $23,647,209,000 after buying an additional 3,018,294 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $21,624,718,000 after buying an additional 2,873,809 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,893,010,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 37.8% in the first 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 buying an additional 17,985,046 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 209.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04.

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Broadcom Company Profile

Broadcom Inc designs, develops, and supplies various semiconductor devices with a focus on complex digital and mixed signal complementary metal oxide semiconductor based devices and analog III-V based products worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software.