Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Short Interest Up 23.8% in December

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 69,789,300 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the November 30th total of 56,351,035 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,966,447 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,966,447 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVGO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Broadcom in a report on Monday. Benchmark lifted their target price on Broadcom from $385.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Macquarie assumed coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Broadcom from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $443.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Key Stores Impacting Broadcom

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong analyst conviction — multiple firms have reiterated Buy/Overweight ratings and raised price targets, supporting upside expectations and institutional demand. Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) up 51% YTD, Wall Street Still Sees 31% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwind from AI infrastructure — commentary on NVIDIA’s Groq deal highlights that as AI shifts from training to inference, networking and data‑center suppliers like Broadcom stand to benefit. The Lazy Way to Play NVIDIA’s $20B Groq Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase and strong fundamentals — Broadcom recently raised its quarterly payout and continues to report outsized margins and revenue growth, which supports the long‑term income/quality case. MarketBeat: AVGO profile & dividend details
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling is heavy but partly explained — several late‑Dec Form 4s reflect RSU tax‑withholding or diversification through exchange funds, which reduces the outright negative signal for most sales. Broadcom’s Insider Selling: A Big Red Flag, or Business as Usual?
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market‑momentum questions — chart studies note the rally may be losing directional momentum, which can increase short‑term volatility despite the longer‑term bull case. Broadcom Stock: Is The Rally Losing Directional Momentum?
• Negative Sentiment: Large discretionary insider sales (CEO Hock Tan and other officers) — material reductions by executives draw investor scrutiny and can weigh on sentiment even when there are stated diversification/tax reasons. SEC Form 4: Hock Tan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Post‑earnings margin/guidance concerns — the Dec. earnings beat was followed by a sharp pullback as investors parsed flat non‑AI guidance and gross‑margin questions, which can cap near‑term upside. Post‑earnings selloff analysis

Broadcom Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $349.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $326.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 73.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.19. Broadcom has a fifty-two week low of $138.10 and a fifty-two week high of $414.61. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $18.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 37.45%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Broadcom will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 3,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.79, for a total value of $1,217,412.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 307,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,709,216.23. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.65, for a total transaction of $34,565,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 495,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,317,274.70. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 650,701 shares of company stock valued at $239,190,157 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Broadcom Company Profile

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.