After spending most of the year struggling to break through, Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) stock experienced a pronounced move to the upside in mid-December. The catalyst was quite simple — on December 12, the semiconductor company released its Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings report.
Earnings per share (EPS) came in above analyst expectations, although revenues fell slightly short of consensus estimates. Before the surge, AVGO stock was trading at approximately $180 — subsequently, it went parabolic and reached prices as high as $250 — equating to a 38.88% rally.
Prices have receded since then — at press time, a single Broadcom share was worth $227.04, after marking a 7.45% loss on the weekly chart. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, however, Broadcom stock is still up 109.19%.
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At present, analysts are generally quite bullish on the chipmaker, which is a noted favorite of congressional stock trading emeritus Nancy Pelosi. Growth prospects seem solid, and the business has maintained and increased its dividends over the years.
However, unseen bearish factors might be at play — according to data retrieved by Finbold’s insider trading radar from recently released SEC filings, a key company insider recently sold a sizable quantity of AVGO shares.
Board member dumps $1.5 million worth of Broadcom stock
On December 17, Harry You, a member of the company’s board of directors, executed a transaction to sell 6,540 units of Broadcom stock at an average price of $240.04 apiece. In total, You’s trade netted him approximately $1,569,600.
Interestingly enough, unlike most insider sales, these transactions were not made according to a 10b5-1 plan. In simple terms, they were not prearranged —a fact that supports the case for the trade being an instance of profit-taking.
However, it would be far-reaching and too hasty to declare this a bearish portent — You could have sold a larger part of his stake in the business — but with the trade concluded, he still holds 30,450 AVGO shares, which would seem to indicate that the director still expects to see growth and expansion in the coming years.
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