Technology

What to Expect When Broadcom Reports After the Close

Chris Lange

Published: March 15, 2018 1:55 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:22 am

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is scheduled to release its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets close on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are calling for $5.04 in earnings per share (EPS) on $5.32 billion in revenue. The same period of last year had EPS of $3.63 and $4.15 billion in revenue.

So much for the big payday several investment bankers and M&A lawyers expected from a Broadcom offer to buy Qualcomm. The Trump White House nixed the deal due to national security interests. Investors who hoped to make money on the transaction have lost a great deal as well.

Broadcom had even gone so far as to move its headquarters to the United States to dodge the issue. Ironically, the failure of the deal may make Broadcom a target of an M&A advance from Intel. Broadcom expects to have completed the process of relocating its business to the United States by April 3.

In the most recently reported short interest period, Broadcom shares short retreated to 4.02 million from the previous 4.98 million.

Excluding Thursday’s move, Broadcom has more or less kept pace with the broad markets, with its stock up 16% in the past 52 weeks. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up only 1.4%.

A few analysts weighed in on Broadcom ahead of the earnings report:

• Merrill Lynch reiterated a Buy rating with a $340 price target.
• Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating and a $325 price target.
• SunTrust Banks has a Buy rating with a $335 target price.
• BMO Capital Markets has an Outperform rating with a $345 target.
• Rosenblatt Securities has a Buy rating.
• B. Riley has a Buy rating and a $335 price target.
• Canaccord Genuity has a Buy rating with a $325 target.

Shares of Broadcom were last seen up about 3% at $268.31, with a consensus analyst price target of $319.11 and a 52-week range of $208.44 to $285.68.