Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Cut to "Neutral" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan downgraded Qualcomm from "overweight" to "neutral" with a $140 target price, implying roughly a 5.2% upside from the current share price.
• The board authorized a $20 billion share repurchase program, allowing the company to buy up to about 14.5% of outstanding shares.
• Qualcomm beat quarterly EPS estimates ($3.50 vs. $3.38) and set Q2 FY2026 guidance of $2.45–$2.65; analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average target of $161.73.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $140.00 target price on the wireless technology company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.22% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on QCOM. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Qualcomm in a report on Monday, March 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $175.00) on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Qualcomm from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $135.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.73.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $133.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $134.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.83. Qualcomm has a twelve month low of $121.99 and a twelve month high of $205.95.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Qualcomm will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total transaction of $458,787.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,202.35. This trade represents a 8.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total transaction of $438,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,118 shares of company stock worth $1,233,705 over the last quarter. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Qualcomm during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,591,056,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 141.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,437,240 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,069,059,000 after purchasing an additional 7,292,783 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $4,931,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221,924 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,645,603 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,163,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771,490 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 36.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,552,427 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,090,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

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.

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