Broadcom Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 289,152 call options on the company. This is an increase of 49% compared to the typical daily volume of 194,714 call options.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVGO opened at $179.53 on Friday. Broadcom has a 1 year low of $90.36 and a 1 year high of $186.42. The firm has a market cap of $838.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.98, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVGO. William Blair began coverage on Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.96.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.88, for a total transaction of $3,456,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,596,812.80. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total transaction of $2,893,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 737,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,781,155.20. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 311,080 shares of company stock valued at $53,540,590. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AXA S.A. grew its position in Broadcom by 2.7% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 291,078 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $467,334,000 after buying an additional 7,608 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 943.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 18,206 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 947.2% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 689,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $119,000,000 after purchasing an additional 623,983 shares during the period. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 912.6% during the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,802 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 913.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 78,977 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $13,624,000 after purchasing an additional 71,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.