Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment on Qualcomm is mixed, with 34 analysts assigning an average rating of “Hold.” The average 12-month price target is about $181.79, below the stock’s recent trading level.
• Qualcomm reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, and it issued Q3 2026 guidance of $2.10 to $2.30 EPS. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.92 per share and continues its $20 billion share repurchase program.
• Investor focus is shifting to Qualcomm’s AI and diversification efforts, including new edge AI partnerships and momentum in its Dragonwing ecosystem. At the same time, some market commentary says the stock may already reflect much of the AI growth optimism.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-four analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have issued a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $181.7857.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Qualcomm from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang publicly endorsed Qualcomm, saying investors should “buy their stock,” which sparked after-hours buying and reinforces confidence in Qualcomm’s positioning in mobile and AI-related chips.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm is expanding beyond smartphones with new edge AI partnerships, including an AI-powered enterprise conference platform with Primax Electronics and edge AI collaborations with SLB and SDG&E/Scripps, supporting the company’s diversification story.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm continues to build momentum in its Dragonwing edge AI ecosystem, with ecosystem partners showcasing new products at Computex 2026, which may help validate long-term demand for its non-mobile chip platforms.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights a valuation debate: some analysts and articles question whether Qualcomm’s strong multi-year run has already priced in much of the AI and growth upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the latest filing showed no meaningful short position change, so there is no clear evidence of a new bearish positioning shift specific to Qualcomm.
• Negative Sentiment: Marketwide semiconductor weakness is weighing on sentiment, with reports of a sector correction and increased short selling hitting chip stocks broadly, including Qualcomm.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 197,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,562,240. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,065,677.70. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qualcomm Price Performance

QCOM opened at $205.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $216.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.97 and a 200 day moving average of $164.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.37. Qualcomm has a fifty-two week low of $121.99 and a fifty-two week high of $259.92.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Qualcomm will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the wireless technology company to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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.