Are Firms Selling Off Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)?

According to the latest company filings with the SEC, institutions owning shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) have decreased their positions by -0.07%.  Institutions now own 88.20% of the company.

For any technician, the trend is a major aspect of stock trading. The trend is the dominant movement in direction of a stock’s price. When discussing the trend in terms of stock price, the assumption is that the trend is expected to continue over a certain period of time. Obviously there is no guarantee that a defined trend will continue, but technical analysts will scour the charts looking for signs of a developed trend to help make the best possible decisions. Seasoned chart watchers are typically able to spot if a trend is up, down, or sideways. Learning how to trade the trend is another part of the process that traders may spend years perfecting.  

Big organizations that control vast sums of money, such as mutual funds, insurance companies or pension funds, that buy securities are known as “institutional investors”.  Unlike individual investors, institutional investors trade in massive blocks of 10,000 or more shares per transaction.  The sheer size of these trades significantly affect the price of a share. 

PROS AND CONS

Peter Lynch says in his best-selling book, “One Up on Wall Street”, that institutional ownership is a negative thing.  “Institutions don’t own it and the analysts don’t follow it”.  He favors the stocks that big investment groups pass on because he feels that these stocks are undervalued.  In contrast, Investor’s Business Daily’s William O’Neil thinks that institutional investors are important to driving up stock prices because they provide the largest source of demand for stocks.  O’Neil argues that if a stock has no institutional ownership, it means they have already passed on it.  He regards institutional ownership as a desirable stock trait in his book, “How to Make Money in Stocks”. 

Investors often look favorably upon stocks who have a large amount of institutional ownership.  These large companies often employ a team of analysts to perform financial research before purchasing a large block of stock, making their decisions influential in the eyes of other investors.

Due to the financial commitment that these companies make into research, these institutions aren’t quick to sell off their shares.  But when they do, however, it can drive down the price. 

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Technical analysts have little regard for the value of a company. They use historic price data to observe stock price patterns to predict the direction of that price going forward.  Analysts use common formulas and ratios to accomplish this.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) is 61.75.  RSI is a technical indicator of price momentum, comparing the size of recent gains to the size of recent losses and establishes oversold and overbought positions.

Sharp investors typically realize that stock returns can fluctuate, and the periods of extreme ups and downs can sometimes be quite long. It can be very difficult to predict when a big market downturn will occur. However, investors who have a plan in place will often find themselves in a better position than those who do not. Investors following an individual plan can include some preparation for the unknown. The plan may involve specific criteria, and it may be uniquely tailored to suit the individual’s goals. When markets get choppy, it can be tempting for the individual investor to go into survival mode. Some of the best stock buying opportunities will present themselves during a lengthy period of decline. Being ready to pounce on these opportunities might end up being a huge benefit to the investor when the time comes.

Shareholders can expect a return on equity of 23.80%.  Calculated by dividing Broadcom Inc.’s annual earnings by its total assets, investors will note a return on assets of 11.40%.  Finally, Broadcom Inc.’s return on investment stands at 13.20% when you divide the shareholder’s return by the cost.  The consensus analysts recommendation at this point stands at 2.00 for Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO).  This is based on a 1-5 scale where 1 indicates a Strong Buy and 5 a Strong Sell.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and information expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any company stakeholders, financial professionals, or analysts. Examples of analysis performed within this article are only examples. They should not be utilized to make stock portfolio or financial decisions as they are based only on limited and open source information. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of any analysts or financial professionals.