Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares fell 3% on Thursday, trading as low as $235.32 before last changing hands at $242.57, below the prior close of $250.01.
• Recent analyst views remain mixed: the stock carries a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $181.79, though some firms like Seaport maintained a Sell rating while others raised targets.
• Qualcomm reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with EPS of $2.65 versus $2.56 expected, and it also boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.92 per share and authorized a $20 billion share buyback.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $235.32 and last traded at $242.57. 14,013,028 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 16,013,419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Qualcomm from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus set a $220.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Down 3.0%

The firm has a market cap of $255.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 1.59. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $172.67 and its 200 day moving average is $162.55.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during 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%. Qualcomm's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm's payout ratio is presently 38.70%.

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

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,562,240. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.90, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,972,189.60. This represents a 8.15% 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. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $11,103,000 after buying an additional 8,130 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 112.2% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 43,986 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $7,524,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,533,420 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $262,291,000 after buying an additional 23,110 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $3,197,000 after buying an additional 6,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,690 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $24,578,000 after buying an additional 7,804 shares in the last quarter. 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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