Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Qualcomm “Hold” overall: Of 39 covering brokerages, 21 recommend holding, 15 recommend buying or strong buying, and 3 recommend selling; the average 12-month price target is $197.55.
• Qualcomm narrowly beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reporting $2.17 per share and $10.44 billion in revenue, but revenue fell 8.4% year over year and earnings declined from $3.00 per share.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, equivalent to $3.68 annually and a 2.2% yield.

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the thirty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $197.55.

A number of brokerages have commented on QCOM. Zacks Research lowered Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $159.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

Qualcomm stock opened at $165.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $178.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.52. The stock has a market cap of $176.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.70. Qualcomm has a 12-month low of $121.99 and a 12-month high of $259.92.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The wireless technology company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.12 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Qualcomm will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Qualcomm's payout ratio is 28.98%.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.06, for a total transaction of $437,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,641,072.94. This represents a 10.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 208 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $35,360.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,820 shares of company stock valued at $5,980,217. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter valued at $17,583,115,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Qualcomm by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,763,263 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $9,750,123,000 after buying an additional 671,537 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Qualcomm by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,202,619 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $3,178,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,179,720 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Qualcomm by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,195,741 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,884,071,000 after buying an additional 4,942,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,523,930,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s fiscal Q4 revenue of $10.44 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $2.17 edged past estimates. Automotive growth and the company’s data-center ambitions offer potential sources of diversification. Article: Is Qualcomm Stock Worth Buying After Mixed Q4 Results?
• Positive Sentiment: A broader market recovery helped lift shares after Thursday’s sharp sell-off, as investors reassessed fears that election-related policy changes could slow data-center investment. Article: Tech executives react to post-midterm AI sell-off
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed a $548 million Qualcomm stake, a potentially supportive signal of institutional investor interest. Article: Alphabet discloses Qualcomm stake
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm is also set to provide chips and software for SpaceX’s planned terrestrial mobile network, adding a potential opportunity beyond its traditional handset market. Article: SpaceX Qualcomm 5G deal
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Ann Chaplin sold 1,501 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and retained 27,271 shares; the planned sale may carry limited signaling weight. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, year-over-year revenue and earnings declined, and weak profit guidance, handset softness and rising component costs are weighing on expectations. Analysts have also cut price targets, while concerns about data-center investment and margins remain. Article: Qualcomm beat earnings, but its fastest-growing businesses have a catch

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies and semiconductor products. Its chips and related systems are used in smartphones and other connected devices, with products spanning mobile processors, modem-radio frequency systems, and connectivity solutions. The Snapdragon brand includes platforms for mobile devices as well as computing, automotive, and extended-reality applications.

Qualcomm also develops technology for automotive systems and the Internet of Things, including connectivity and processing solutions for vehicles, industrial equipment, and consumer devices.

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