Ahead of the Bell: Broadcom upgraded

Piper Jaffray analyst Gary W. Mobley upgraded the Irvine, Calif., company to "Buy" from "Neutral" and raised the price target to $31 from $24.

The new target implies he expects the stock to jump 18 percent over Thursday's $26.22 close.

"Despite the maturity and diversity of the company, we believe there are a few product cycles large enough to cause the company's revenue to accelerate and outpace current consensus estimates," Mobley said in a note to clients.

Potential areas for revenue growth include Apple Inc.'s 3G iPhone and the overall migration to high-definition video, among others, he said.

So far this year, shares have risen less than 1 percent.

A company representative was not immediately available for comment.