Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares rose on heavy trading after Craig Hallum upgraded the stock to a buy rating, with intraday volume reaching 11.8 million shares. The stock also jumped from its prior close of $219.09 to about $237.46.
• Analyst views remain mixed overall: while some firms recently raised price targets or issued buy ratings, Qualcomm’s broader consensus rating is still Hold with an average target price of $180.37.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $2.65 EPS versus estimates of $2.56, and it also boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.92 per share. Qualcomm has additionally authorized a $20 billion share buyback plan.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after Craig Hallum upgraded the stock to a buy rating. 11,825,840 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the previous session's volume of 14,051,845 shares.The stock last traded at $237.4590 and had previously closed at $219.09.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America began coverage on Qualcomm in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Qualcomm from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $220.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Qualcomm from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $33,024.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% 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 have sold 15,977 shares of company stock worth $2,738,566 in the last 90 days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

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

Qualcomm Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market cap of $254.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 27.14 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.77 and a 200 day moving average of $155.88.

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

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm's payout ratio is 38.70%.

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

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.

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