Broadcom joins at least four other telecom companies as the SEC launches an "informal" inquiry into media and analyst reports concerning the company's stock options granting practices. In March, a report from the Center for Financial Research and Analysis claimed 17 companies were "at risk" for having back-dated stock option grants during the five year period that ended in 2002. Broadcom was among the companies named. "Back-dating" is retroactively altering the grant date of an option so that it coincides with a low-price period in the company's stock price.
For more on the SEC's informal inquiry into Broadcom:
- see this article from Light Reading