Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares fell 3.1% on Thursday, trading as low as $172.12 before closing at $176.25, with volume running above average. The drop came amid a broader wave of negative news flow around the stock.
• Several recent headlines pressured sentiment, including Qualcomm’s removal from multiple Russell growth and value indices, a downgrade tied to concerns it is not an AI leader, and reports that Google chose MediaTek for a TPU project instead of Qualcomm.
• Analysts remain mixed but mostly neutral to bullish: recent target hikes lifted some optimism, yet the overall consensus rating is still “Hold,” with an average price target of $220.45. Qualcomm also reported solid quarterly earnings and has an active $20 billion share buyback authorization.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $172.12 and last traded at $176.25. Approximately 18,492,932 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 17,104,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.92.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm was removed from multiple Russell growth and value indices, which can create passive-fund selling pressure and reduce benchmark visibility for the stock. QUALCOMM (QCOM) Stock Just Lost Its Place In Several Russell Indices
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment also weakened after a Seeking Alpha article called Qualcomm “not the next AI darling” and flagged a rating downgrade, reinforcing concerns that the company may be lagging hotter AI chip names. Qualcomm Stock: Not The Next AI Darling (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Google chose MediaTek to build a TPU project, potentially at Qualcomm’s expense, which raises competitive concerns in the AI/semiconductor space. Google taps MediaTek to build Triggerfish TPU, possibly at expense of Broadcom, Qualcomm: GF
• Negative Sentiment: Elon Musk denied reports that SpaceX was using Qualcomm chips in a prototype AI phone, removing a speculative upside catalyst for QCOM. QCOM Stock Slips Toward Fourth Straight Loss After Elon Musk Dismisses Reports Of Space X AI Phone Using Qualcomm Chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Qualcomm, a mild fundamental positive, but it does not appear strong enough to offset the current negative sentiment. Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM - Free Report

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Argus set a $220.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Monday, March 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Qualcomm to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $220.45.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $185.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.64.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total transaction of $167,267.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 Qualcomm 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,721 shares of company stock worth $3,918,290. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,591,056,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 141.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% during 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 buying an additional 3,221,924 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,645,603 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,163,030,000 after buying an additional 2,771,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 36.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,552,427 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,090,025,000 after buying an additional 1,764,252 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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