Qualcomm Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Key Points

• Qualcomm saw unusual options activity on Thursday, with traders buying 161,180 call options, about 29% above the stock’s average daily call volume. That helped spotlight renewed bullish interest in QCOM.
• The stock rose 3.8% to $204.90 on heavy trading volume, while recent earnings showed Qualcomm beat EPS estimates and posted revenue roughly in line with expectations. The company also guided Q3 2026 EPS at 2.10–2.30.
• Qualcomm boosted its dividend and is expanding its buyback plan, raising the quarterly payout to $0.92 per share and maintaining a $20 billion share repurchase authorization. Recent news also highlights a big push into data center AI and non-handset revenue growth.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 161,180 call options on the company. This is an increase of 29% compared to the average daily volume of 124,834 call options.

Qualcomm Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $7.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $204.90. 33,607,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,742,182. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Qualcomm has a 52-week low of $121.99 and a 52-week high of $259.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 25.36 and a beta of 1.59. The business's fifty day moving average is $198.52 and its 200-day moving average is $167.48.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualcomm will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm's payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total value of $167,267.33. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,806 shares of company stock worth $3,928,958. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Qualcomm by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm raised its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue target to $40 billion, roughly double its prior goal, signaling a much larger growth opportunity outside the core handset business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled a data center AI roadmap targeting more than $15 billion in revenue by fiscal 2029, which strengthens the bull case for Qualcomm as an AI infrastructure player. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm announced a multi-generation data center CPU agreement with Meta, giving the company a marquee customer and validating its push into AI servers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm agreed to acquire AI software firm Modular, which could improve its software stack and help it compete more effectively in edge-to-cloud AI workloads. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The expanded Hugging Face partnership adds support for open, developer-driven AI deployment across Qualcomm’s device and data center platforms, reinforcing its AI momentum. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets after the update, including Rosenblatt, while TD Cowen reaffirmed a buy rating but with a lower target than the current trading level. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported Qualcomm is also in talks with ByteDance for chip-design services, adding another possible diversification avenue, though the deal is not yet confirmed. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider-trading data shows more selling than buying over the past six months, which may temper enthusiasm even as the stock rallies. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $213.03.

Qualcomm Company Profile

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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