Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Lowered to Hold (C+) Rating by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Broadcom has been downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, which reflects a cautious outlook from investment analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, Broadcom's stock price recently increased by 2.7%, reaching $345.50, with a consensus target price among analysts set at $357.22.
• Insider trading activity shows significant sales by company executives, with a notable decrease in their ownership stake, raising potential concerns about confidence in the stock.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on AVGO. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $255.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $315.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Broadcom from $285.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.22.

Broadcom Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ AVGO traded up $9.09 on Wednesday, hitting $345.50. 21,436,900 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,035,275. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Broadcom has a fifty-two week low of $138.10 and a fifty-two week high of $374.23. The company has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 88.14, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $320.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $259.78.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 31.59%.The company had revenue of $15.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Broadcom's quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. Broadcom has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 3,893 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.82, for a total transaction of $1,354,063.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,798,106.90. The trade was a 13.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 7,498 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.66, for a total value of $2,606,754.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 313,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $108,932,307.80. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,550 shares of company stock valued at $1,227,869 and sold 666,071 shares valued at $225,623,008. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 483,442,939 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $133,261,046,000 after purchasing an additional 6,222,802 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 185,276,987 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $51,071,601,000 after acquiring an additional 873,963 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 108,610,718 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $29,827,649,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226,585 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,579,549,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $10,968,270,000 after buying an additional 17,985,046 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Broadcom

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.

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