Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares jumped 4.8%, opening at $180.40 after previously closing at $168.74, with trading volume exceeding 8 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Qualcomm has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $203.76, despite several firms raising targets and one issuing a “Strong Buy” rating.
• Recent earnings slightly missed EPS expectations but exceeded revenue estimates, while Qualcomm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, representing a 2.1% yield.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $168.74, but opened at $180.40. Qualcomm shares last traded at $176.3270, with a volume of 8,064,463 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Freedom Capital raised shares of Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer set a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $160.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $203.76.

Qualcomm Stock Up 4.8%

The stock has a market cap of $185.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.04.

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

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Qualcomm's payout ratio is currently 42.59%.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In related news, EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total value of $470,528.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,372,106.40. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Grech sold 625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total value of $101,781.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,872.80. This trade represents a 75.03% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,961,219. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the first quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 17,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Qualcomm during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

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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