Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares slipped about 1% to $129.82 on Friday on below‑average volume; Wall Street’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $168 amid mixed analyst moves ranging roughly from $134 to $200.
• The company posted an EPS beat of $3.50 versus $3.38 and $12.25B in revenue for the quarter, and set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.45–$2.65 EPS while sell‑side forecasts project roughly 9.39 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Qualcomm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.89 (2.7% yield, ex‑dividend March 5), and insiders sold about 45,501 shares (~$7.8M) over the last quarter even as institutional investors increased holdings.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $129.22 and last traded at $129.82. 7,696,287 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 10,388,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on QCOM shares. Daiwa Securities Group cut Qualcomm from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus dropped their price target on Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.00.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $138.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.53.

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

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Qualcomm's payout ratio is currently 73.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total transaction of $458,787.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,202.35. The trade was a 8.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 45,501 shares of company stock worth $7,784,198 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,713,603,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 141.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,437,240 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,069,059,000 after purchasing an additional 7,292,783 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% in 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 last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 38.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 11,533,094 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,866,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

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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