Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Down 2.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares fell 2.2% to $177.12 in Wednesday trading, with volume roughly half the average. The stock’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average analyst price target of $204.10.
• AI and automotive businesses offer growth potential: Qualcomm is reportedly expanding into custom AI chips for Amazon and ByteDance, while automotive revenue rose 61.4% year over year in the latest quarter.
• Near-term risks remain significant, including weaker handset demand, declining Apple-related revenue, licensing and margin pressure, and an unproven data-center opportunity. Quarterly revenue fell 4% year over year, EPS slightly missed estimates, and insiders have recently sold shares.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares dropped 2.2% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $175.35 and last traded at $177.12. Approximately 7,865,659 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 15,441,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.03.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center growth could provide a major catalyst. Qualcomm has reportedly added Amazon and ByteDance as custom AI-chip customers, potentially creating a significant revenue stream beyond handsets. Its edge-AI strategy also includes new Snapdragon chips that run more AI workloads directly on smartphones. Qualcomm Could Have a Much Bigger AI Story Than Investors Think
• Positive Sentiment: Automotive remains a strong diversification engine. Qualcomm’s automotive revenue grew 61.4% year over year in the latest quarter, helping offset concerns about declining U.S. electric-vehicle sales. Qualcomm Can Grow Even as U.S. EV Sales Fall
• Positive Sentiment: New licensing and government opportunities broaden Qualcomm’s reach. A multiyear Huawei patent agreement covers 5G, computing, and AI, while a collaboration with OKSI will deploy autonomy software on Qualcomm technologies for unmanned platforms. The Huawei arrangement remains subject to FTC review. Qualcomm’s Huawei Deal Adds Strategic Depth to Its AI Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and market expectations are mixed. Analysts’ reported price targets have a median of $225, but coverage is divided, with both buy and underweight opinions. Investors are watching whether Qualcomm’s AI investments can justify its valuation after a sizable six-month advance.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term fundamentals remain challenging. Qualcomm faces weaker handset demand, faster declines in Apple-related revenue, licensing pressure, and margin concerns. Its latest reported quarter included a 4% year-over-year revenue decline and a slight EPS miss, while the data-center opportunity is still unproven and faces intense competition. QCOM Lags Industry Year to Date
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-return and insider signals are unfavorable. Commentary highlights Qualcomm’s suspension of its dividend amid handset weakness, while reported insider activity shows substantial selling and no open-market purchases over the past six months. Skyworks vs Qualcomm

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on QCOM. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Evercore set a $159.00 price target on Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Qualcomm to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Two investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $204.10.

Qualcomm Stock Down 2.2%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $172.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.09. The company has a market capitalization of $189.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm's payout ratio is 42.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $35,360.00. The transaction 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, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 177,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,513,600. The trade was a 5.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 31,631 shares of company stock worth $5,893,251 over the last three months. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth about $17,583,115,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Qualcomm by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,763,263 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $9,750,123,000 after acquiring an additional 671,537 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 22.7% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 3,179,720 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,645,603 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,163,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771,490 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,595,307 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,983,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,312 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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