Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up before the open, opening at $145.61 vs. a $133.95 close and last trading near $146.40—about an 11.5% jump on heavy volume.
• The board authorized a $20.0 billion buyback (≈14.5% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.92 (annualized $3.68, ~2.5% yield).
• Qualcomm beat Q1 estimates (EPS $3.50 vs. $3.38 expected) and set Q2 guidance of $2.45–$2.65, but analysts are mixed with a consensus Hold and an average price target of $158.25.

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $133.95, but opened at $145.61. Qualcomm shares last traded at $146.3980, with a volume of 7,600,791 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on QCOM shares. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Barclays started coverage on Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "underweight" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Securities Group lowered Qualcomm from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus reduced their price target on Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Qualcomm in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.25.

Qualcomm Stock Up 11.5%

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 50 day moving average price of $134.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.58. The company has a market cap of $159.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 1.28.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The company had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. The company'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. Research analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.55%.

Qualcomm announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total transaction of $325,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,999,352.56. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,233,705. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Qualcomm by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $11,103,000 after purchasing an additional 8,130 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Qualcomm by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,018 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC increased its position in Qualcomm by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 19,102 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 5,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,004,339 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $167,082,000 after acquiring an additional 16,738 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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