QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Short Interest Up 43.4% in May

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,080,000 shares, a growth of 43.4% from the April 30th total of 17,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.10, for a total value of $235,270.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,661,403.70. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Inc/De Qualcomm sold 412,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $6,600,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 421,731 shares of company stock valued at $7,894,997 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its stake in QUALCOMM by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,110 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered QUALCOMM from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $250.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $189.88.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QCOM traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $146.07. 2,292,382 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,760,231. The company's 50-day moving average is $144.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.53. QUALCOMM has a 1 year low of $120.80 and a 1 year high of $230.63. The company has a market capitalization of $160.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.03. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. The business had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is a boost from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio is 36.25%.

About QUALCOMM

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products.