Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Raises Stake in Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM

Key Points

• Pekin Hardy Strauss boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 194.9% in Q4 to 15,871 shares (worth $2.72M), part of broader institutional accumulation that leaves institutions owning 74.35% of the stock.
• News that Qualcomm is reportedly working with OpenAI on AI‑native smartphone processors, plus a newly authorized $20 billion buyback and a raised quarterly dividend ($0.92), has re‑rated growth expectations and driven bullish buying interest.
• Company insiders have recently sold shares and analysts are mixed, while memory‑supply headwinds and the upcoming Q1/Q2 earnings/guidance print remain the near‑term catalysts and risks for the stock.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 194.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,871 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,489 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.'s holdings in Qualcomm were worth $2,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 141.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,437,240 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,069,059,000 after purchasing an additional 7,292,783 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 36.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,552,427 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,090,025,000 after buying an additional 1,764,252 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 120.1% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,152,866 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $502,125,000 after buying an additional 1,720,529 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 59.1% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,418,406 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $703,675,000 after buying an additional 1,641,068 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 18.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,050,717 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,505,677,000 after buying an additional 1,397,466 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total transaction of $325,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,684 shares in the company, valued at $3,999,352.56. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders sold 9,118 shares of company stock worth $1,233,705. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Qualcomm is working with OpenAI (and MediaTek) to build AI‑native smartphone processors have re‑rated growth expectations for QCOM and sparked strong buying interest as investors price in a durable edge‑AI opportunity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighting Qualcomm’s potential to become the platform leader in on‑device AI — plus management’s large $20B buyback and dividend support — is reinforcing a bullish narrative that the company can regain a higher growth multiple. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: News flow and premarket commentary (CNBC/FastCompany coverage) of the OpenAI tie‑up triggered a large intraday volume surge and rapid price appreciation, reflecting headline‑driven momentum that can continue into earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: QCOM reports Q1/Q2 results on April 29; analysts and investors are focused on revenue guidance and the company’s commentary on handset demand and AI roadmap — the earnings print is the proximate catalyst for direction. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector commentary from Bernstein and others warns that AI demand is uneven across chip segments; broader semiconductor narrative (both upside from AI and crowding/valuation risk) is influencing QCOM’s multiple. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational headwinds: reporting warns of memory‑supply dynamics and a memory shortage that could press Q2 revenue and margins — a clear near‑term risk that could disappoint guidance and press the stock lower if reiterated in the print. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst estimate trims: Erste Group slightly lowered FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts for Qualcomm, signaling some analyst caution on near‑term earnings power (modest downward revisions, but still close to consensus). Article Title

Qualcomm Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ QCOM opened at $150.00 on Wednesday. Qualcomm Incorporated has a 1 year low of $121.99 and a 1 year high of $205.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business's 50-day moving average is $134.67 and its 200 day moving average is $155.16.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.Qualcomm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Qualcomm's payout ratio is 73.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Qualcomm from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Susquehanna cut shares of Qualcomm from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.25.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.

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