Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 64,010,000 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the September 15th total of 55,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Broadcom Stock Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $175.98 on Wednesday. Broadcom has a 1 year low of $81.83 and a 1 year high of $186.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $164.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.27. The stock has a market cap of $819.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The firm had revenue of $13.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Broadcom will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AVGO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $173.50 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total value of $8,168,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,331,910 shares in the company, valued at $217,594,136.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 150,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.94, for a total value of $25,941,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,181,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,399,515.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total value of $8,168,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,331,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,594,136.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 295,130 shares of company stock worth $50,646,622. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lion Street Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 1.9% in the second quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom by 0.7% during the first quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Broadcom by 72.7% during the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 19 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 0.3% during the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.