Rumors Send Broadcom’s Stock Soaring to $196.50

With rumors swirling about what might happen at a board meeting Monday, the stock of Broadcom Corp. soared 12%, or $21.69 a share, Friday to close at $196.50. Though the agenda for a shareholder meeting, also on Monday, contains routine items and is expected to be brief, investor message boards on the Internet hummed with rumors that a stock split may be in the offing at the board meeting. The Irvine developer of chips for high-speed data transmissions last split its stock in February. Since the beginning of the year, the stock’s value has risen 225%. With Friday’s stock jump, the value of Broadcom holdings of founders Henry Samueli and Henry Nicholas rose $421 million and $418 million, respectively.