Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 2.7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares rose 2.7% to $151.57, although trading volume was 17% below the average session level. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $198.21 and $167.60, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Hold”, with 21 Hold, 14 Buy, two Sell and one Strong Buy ratings. The average price target is $203.63, despite several recent target cuts.
• Qualcomm narrowly missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.21 versus $2.23 expected, while revenue exceeded forecasts at $9.95 billion but fell 4% year over year. The company also declared a $0.92 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.4% yield.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) was up 2.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $151.68 and last traded at $151.57. 13,657,706 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 16,550,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Qualcomm from $265.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Qualcomm to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $165.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Qualcomm from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualcomm has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.63.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $159.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $198.21 and a 200 day moving average of $167.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%.The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Qualcomm's payout ratio is presently 42.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.81, for a total value of $452,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,191,899.04. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total value of $167,267.33. 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 8,329 shares of company stock worth $1,642,417 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $11,103,000 after purchasing an additional 8,130 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in Qualcomm by 112.2% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 43,986 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $7,524,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $3,197,000 after acquiring an additional 6,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,690 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $24,578,000 after acquiring an additional 7,804 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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