Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 11.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares fell 11.5% on heavy trading volume, reflecting a broad pullback in chip and AI-related stocks after a strong multi-week rally. The move appears tied more to profit-taking and sector-wide risk-off sentiment than to a company-specific shock.
• Despite the selloff, analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $280 and kept a Buy rating, while the average Street rating is Hold with an average target of $180.37. Recent commentary points to growth opportunities in AI, automotive, IoT, data centers, robotics, and 6G.
• Fundamentals and shareholder returns remain solid, with Qualcomm recently beating quarterly EPS estimates, raising its dividend to $0.92 per share, and authorizing a $20 billion share repurchase plan. The company also reported strong profitability metrics, though revenue was down year over year in the latest quarter.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) traded down 11.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $202.00 and last traded at $210.31. 38,307,902 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 161% from the average session volume of 14,694,899 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.53.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s longer-term growth story remains intact, with analysts and commentators highlighting expansion beyond smartphone chips into data centers, automotive, robotics, AI devices, and future 6G technology. Qualcomm Breakout Gains Steam After New 52-Week High
• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial Partners raised its price target on Qualcomm to $280 from $270 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing AI expansion and an increasingly compelling investment opportunity. Tigress Financial Partners Reaffirms Buy Rating on QUALCOMM (QCOM) Amid AI Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Recent bullish coverage says Qualcomm is benefiting from strong execution in automotive and IoT, with revenue trends in those segments helping offset near-term handset weakness. Qualcomm: High Growth Revenue In High Growth Markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media commentary continue to frame Qualcomm as a beneficiary of the AI chip and server-CPU cycle, but some also question whether the rally has become overextended and too broad. Qualcomm Stock Just Doubled: Breakout or Blow-Off?
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm is seeing a sharp pullback as investors lock in gains after a major multi-week surge in semiconductors and AI-related stocks. Why are Intel, Qualcomm, AMD stocks falling today?
• Negative Sentiment: The broader chip sector sold off alongside Qualcomm after a hot inflation report sparked risk-off trading, pressuring momentum names that had rallied hard on AI optimism. Qualcomm drops 13% as chip stocks pull back from record AI-driven rally

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Qualcomm from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Qualcomm from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.37.

Qualcomm Stock Down 11.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 27.14 and a beta of 1.49.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. 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 approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $33,024.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,977 shares of company stock worth $2,738,566 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Basepoint Wealth LLC grew its stake in Qualcomm by 1.8% in the first quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,333 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Qualcomm by 1.5% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp grew its stake in Qualcomm by 0.6% in the third quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 10,085 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC grew its stake in Qualcomm by 2.6% in the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Qualcomm by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,401 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.