QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.7% - Still a Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $163.45 and last traded at $162.49. Approximately 1,724,197 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 5,451,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on QCOM shares. StockNews.com cut QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen raised QUALCOMM to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, November 11th. They set a "hold" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $207.11.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $178.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $160.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.17.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.90 billion. As a group, analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,879,598.12. This trade represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 306.5% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 5,727 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 4,318 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth about $455,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 60,192 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $9,247,000 after purchasing an additional 9,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 18,150 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,788,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

About QUALCOMM

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.