Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Receives "Market Perform" Rating from Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "Market Perform" rating on Qualcomm and cut its price target to $140 from $175, implying roughly a 7.4% upside from the prior close.
• Qualcomm beat Q4 estimates with $3.50 EPS (consensus $3.38) and $12.25B revenue, and set Q2 fiscal 2026 guidance of $2.45–$2.65 EPS.
• The company's board approved a $20 billion stock buyback program that could repurchase up to 14.5% of outstanding shares, signaling management views the stock as undervalued.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reiterated by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $140.00 price objective on the wireless technology company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $175.00. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target suggests a potential upside of 7.40% from the stock's previous close.

QCOM has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Qualcomm from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.14.

Qualcomm Price Performance

Qualcomm stock opened at $130.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $139.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 1.25. Qualcomm has a one year low of $120.80 and a one year high of $205.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The stock's 50 day moving average is $142.38 and its 200 day moving average is $160.70.

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

Qualcomm declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the wireless technology company to purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Qualcomm stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,245,841. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,866 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,796 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Qualcomm by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Qualcomm by 17,000.0% during 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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.