Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 7.2% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares fell 7.2% to $187.48 after CEO Cristiano Amon sold a combined 20,000 shares for nearly $4 million. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Analysts remain mixed, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $204.10. Recent quarterly revenue beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates and revenue declined 4% year over year.
• Qualcomm is pursuing growth beyond smartphones through automotive, IoT, AI and robotics initiatives, while renewing its patent-license agreement with Apple; however, handset weakness and a broader semiconductor selloff continue to pressure the stock.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 7.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $186.71 and last traded at $187.48. 16,600,823 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 15,643,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.97.

Specifically, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 177,568 shares in the company, valued at $35,513,600. This trade represents a 5.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 187,568 shares in the company, valued at $36,575,760. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They set a "strong-buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $160.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Qualcomm to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.10.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm renewed its global patent-license agreement with Apple, supporting the company’s high-margin royalty stream and providing greater visibility into licensing revenue even as Apple uses fewer Qualcomm chips. Qualcomm and Apple renew global patent license
• Positive Sentiment: The company agreed to acquire robotics-software firm Picknik, a move that could expand Qualcomm’s exposure to robotics and strengthen its longer-term diversification beyond smartphones. Deal terms and the transaction’s near-term financial impact were not detailed. Qualcomm agrees to acquire Picknik
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights 61% automotive growth, a raised non-handset revenue target of $40 billion and new Android chipsets designed for on-device artificial intelligence. These initiatives could help Qualcomm earn a higher valuation if they translate into sustained revenue growth. Qualcomm diversification opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm’s recent rally brought the stock near multi-month highs, prompting investors to consider whether further gains are justified or whether the shares need to consolidate. Large call-option activity indicates heightened bullish speculation but can also increase short-term volatility. How to trade Qualcomm near multi-month highs
• Negative Sentiment: Chip stocks sold off broadly, with Qualcomm falling alongside Arm and Marvell. The sector-wide pressure suggests investors are reducing exposure to semiconductor names rather than reacting solely to Qualcomm’s fundamentals. Chip selloff deepens
• Negative Sentiment: Handset headwinds remain significant: recent coverage points to lower-than-expected Qualcomm content in Apple’s latest iPhone launch, while handset revenue declined year over year. Investors may therefore require clearer evidence that automotive, IoT, AI and robotics can offset smartphone weakness. Qualcomm stock catalysts

Qualcomm Trading Down 7.2%

The firm has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.68. The firm's fifty day moving average is $170.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,583,115,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,523,930,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,178,349,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,195,741 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,884,071,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,908 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 22.7% in 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 period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM is a technology company headquartered in San Diego, California, that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related software. Its products support mobile devices, connected computing, automotive systems, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

Qualcomm's semiconductor business operates primarily through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies segment. Its offerings include Snapdragon platforms and systems-on-chip, cellular modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity products, and processors for smartphones, personal computers, extended-reality devices, vehicles and the Internet of Things.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.