Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 5.4% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares jumped 5.4% on Thursday, trading as high as $214.01 on volume well above average. The stock last traded at $213.41 after closing the prior session at $202.51.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $181.79, even as several firms recently raised targets. Qualcomm currently has 14 Buy ratings, 16 Hold ratings, and 4 Sell ratings.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations and raised its dividend to $0.92 per share, while also maintaining a $20 billion share repurchase program. Qualcomm’s next quarterly dividend is payable June 25, and the annualized yield is about 1.7%.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) traded up 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $214.01 and last traded at $213.41. 28,017,518 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 83% from the average session volume of 15,286,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Qualcomm from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seaport Research Partners restated a "sell" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Up 5.4%

The business's 50 day moving average is $151.18 and its 200 day moving average is $158.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock has a market cap of $224.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.70%.

Qualcomm declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the wireless technology company to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $167,267.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted 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 period. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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