Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 5.2% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares rose 5.2% during Tuesday trading, reaching as high as $238.02 and last trading near $241, though volume was below average.
• The company is drawing attention for its AI and PC growth strategy, including its Dragonfly AI data center brand and Snapdragon PC chips, but Nvidia’s new laptop chip is creating near-term competitive pressure.
• Analysts remain mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $181.79, even as some firms raised targets and Qualcomm boosted its quarterly dividend and authorized a $20 billion buyback.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) traded up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $238.02 and last traded at $241.0050. 21,106,687 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 28,101,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.99.

Qualcomm News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm highlighted its AI strategy at COMPUTEX, saying 2026 is the “year of agents” and introducing its Dragonfly AI data center brand, which could support longer-term AI revenue growth. Qualcomm says 2026 is the ‘year of agents,' unveils Dragonfly AI data center brand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Qualcomm’s recent move into AI PCs and data-center chips as a potential growth catalyst, with some reports asking whether the stock can keep climbing toward $300 if execution improves. Can Qualcomm hit $300 this year? Here’s the answer
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm also continues to gain attention for its entry-level Snapdragon PC chip, which has support from Acer, HP and Lenovo and could help expand its footprint in Windows laptops if adoption builds. Can Qualcomm's Entry-Level Snapdragon PC Chip Drive Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell after Nvidia unveiled the RTX Spark laptop chip at Computex, raising fears of tougher competition in AI PCs and Windows-on-Arm devices, an area Qualcomm has been trying to grow into. Intel, AMD and Qualcomm slide as Nvidia targets AI PC market with RTX Spark chip
• Negative Sentiment: Additional commentary said Nvidia’s PC-chip push could pressure Qualcomm’s near-term PC growth narrative, overshadowing its own AI announcements and helping trigger the stock’s recent weakness. QCOM Stock Slides Premarket: Qualcomm's Dragonfly AI Push Gets Overshadowed By Nvidia's Computex Blitz

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.79.

Qualcomm Price Performance

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 firm's 50 day moving average is $168.02 and its 200 day moving average is $161.56. The firm has a market cap of $254.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 31.09 and a beta of 1.59.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The business's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm's payout ratio is currently 38.70%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the wireless technology company to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares in the company, valued at $35,562,240. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the 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 approximately $3,999,352.56. This trade represents a 7.53% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the first quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Qualcomm by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Qualcomm by 17,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 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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