Broadcom stock is poised to move higher now that the chipmaker has completed its purchase of VMware, Wall Street analysts say. AVGO stock rose on Friday.
San Jose, Calif.-based Broadcom closed its acquisition of VMware on Wednesday after receiving conditional approval from China's State Administration for Market Regulation. Broadcom announced the deal in May 2022 but it was held up by a protracted review by Chinese regulators.
Broadcom is an diversified technology company that sells semiconductors and infrastructure software solutions. Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware provides cloud computing management and networking software.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh on Wednesday reiterated his overweight rating on AVGO stock and raised his price target to 1,200 from 1,000.
On the stock market today, AVGO stock climbed 0.7% to close at 978.87.
In a note to clients, Vinh said he expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to Broadcom's gross profit margin and earnings per share.
AVGO Stock Is A Tech Leader
On Oct. 13, AVGO stock hit a buy point of 923.67 out of a flat base, according to IBD MarketSmith charts. But it pulled back, ending that session down 2.5% to 883.18. That action marked its third failed breakout in four months.
Still, Broadcom stock recovered and notched a record high of 999.87 on Monday.
Further, AVGO stock is on the IBD Tech Leaders list.
VMware Acquisition Worth $83 Billion
The VMware acquisition will increase Broadcom's software sales and lower its exposure to the cyclical semiconductor market, Vinh said.
Broadcom's software sales will increase to about 40% of its total revenue in the first year post-close, Evercore ISI analyst Matthew Prisco said in a client note. That's up from 20% before the acquisition, he said.
Prisco rates AVGO stock as outperform with a price target of 1,050.
When Broadcom announced its acquisition of VMware 18 months ago, the cash-and-stock deal was valued at $61 billion, plus assumption of VMware's debt of about $8 billion. But given the appreciation of Broadcom's stock since then, the closing value of the deal was about $83 billion, Barron's reported.
In a news release, Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan called the acquisition of VMware "another important step forward in building the world's leading infrastructure technology company."
The next potential catalyst for AVGO stock could be Broadcom's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report on Dec. 7.
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