New York, Jan 17, 2026, 17:25 (EST) — Market closed.
Broadcom shares climbed 2.53% on Friday, ending the day at $351.71. This late-week rally puts the chipmaker back in the spotlight as the holiday break approaches. 1
U.S. markets will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, moving the next trading session to Tuesday and shortening the window for fresh signals on risk appetite. This is significant for Broadcom, which has acted as a stand-in for AI infrastructure demand and enterprise software trends via its VMware division. 2
This week’s gains were partly driven by a rally across the semiconductor sector, sparked when Taiwan Semiconductor highlighted strong growth and plans to boost U.S. manufacturing capacity. That eased some concerns over tech valuations. Broadcom stood out among the big-cap chip stocks that climbed in the wake. 3
Wells Fargo raised its rating on Broadcom to “Overweight” from “Equal-Weight” on Jan. 15, a Fintel report shared by Nasdaq shows. In Wall Street terms, “Overweight” signals an expectation that the stock will outperform its sector peers. 4
Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis doubled down, highlighting Broadcom as a top pick for 2026 alongside Nvidia and Marvell Technology, with a $500 price target on Broadcom, Barron’s reported. “AVGO remains our Top Pick but NVDA looks cheap,” Curtis said. 5
Other banks are voicing similar views. Bank of America’s Vivek Arya singled out gross margin strength as a key quick screen for chip winners, setting a $500 target on Broadcom, according to a MarketBeat.com article on Investing.com. “Sort them by gross margins, and buy the top five,” Arya advised. 6
Broadcom’s stock has demonstrated how quickly it reacts to news involving software and geopolitics. On Jan. 14, the shares dropped 4.15% following a Reuters report that Chinese authorities instructed domestic firms to cease using cybersecurity software from a dozen U.S. and Israeli companies, among them Broadcom-owned VMware. 7
U.S. stocks slipped on Friday but closed the week close to record highs, led once again by tech and chip sectors. This trend has drawn investors repeatedly into semiconductors, even as earnings season expands. 8
The tug-of-war remains: optimism over AI-driven data-center investment clashes with geopolitical risks and the chance that enterprise software budgets may tighten. Any hint of cooling cloud capital spending or new restrictions on foreign software in key markets could quickly sour sentiment.
Broadcom is set to drop its fiscal first-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, March 4. The company will also host a public webcast shortly afterward. 9
