QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $179.00 to $157.00. The stock had previously closed at $148.46, but opened at $138.79. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. QUALCOMM shares last traded at $136.96, with a volume of 4,066,022 shares changing hands.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on QCOM. Susquehanna cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on QUALCOMM from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total value of $3,275,511.21. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,526,010.46. This trade represents a 48.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total value of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,596.63. This represents a 61.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,266 shares of company stock valued at $5,267,436 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 70.0% in the 1st quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 3.4 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $147.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

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.