Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 1.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares rose 1.1% on Monday, with trading volume running well above average as the stock briefly hit $210.80 before closing at $203.64.
• Analysts remain mixed despite several upbeat calls, including new or upgraded ratings from Morgan Stanley, Daiwa, and HSBC; the overall consensus is still Hold with a target price of $181.79.
• The company posted solid quarterly results and a higher dividend, beating EPS expectations, raising its quarterly payout to $0.92 per share, and continuing a $20 billion share buyback authorization.

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) rose 1.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $210.80 and last traded at $203.64. Approximately 21,005,888 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 15,115,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 1st. HSBC began coverage on Qualcomm in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Qualcomm from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $214.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 1.49. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $147.36 and its 200 day moving average is $157.64.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.70%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to buy 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 Activity at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.90, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,972,189.60. The trade was a 8.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 197,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,562,240. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,477 shares of company stock valued at $3,268,316. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Qualcomm during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Qualcomm by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 17,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualcomm in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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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