Analysts Are Backing Qualcomm: Is a Breakout Coming?

Key Points

• Qualcomm trades at just 15x earnings, well below other semiconductors like NVIDIA and AMD.
• JPMorgan just raised its price target to $190, implying nearly 25% upside. 
• This month’s earnings report could be the final piece of the puzzle needed for a true breakout. 

Qualcomm Inc. NASDAQ: QCOM has long stood out as one of the cheapest large-cap semiconductor stocks, especially when compared to the likes of NVIDIA Corp NASDAQ: NVDA or Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ: AMD. But valuation alone hasn’t been enough to get shares moving to the same extent that their larger peers have. Based on last week’s update, though, that may soon be changing.

While Qualcomm remains essentially flat since January of last year, the more relevant story for investors right now is the move that’s been building since April. The stock is up nearly 30% from those lows, with a clear pattern of higher highs and higher lows forming on the chart. That’s not something we’ve seen much of from Qualcomm in previous quarters, and it’s giving bulls something to lean on ahead of the company’s next earnings report at the end of the month.

A Valuation That’s Still Hard to Ignore

At the core of Qualcomm’s bull thesis is its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is one of the most commonly used valuation metrics on Wall Street. It compares a company’s current share price to its earnings per share, giving investors a quick and easy read on how “expensive” a stock is relative to its profitability, and in particular to its peers in the same space.

A lower P/E ratio generally means a stock is cheaper, and a P/E of just 15 for Qualcomm is well below the levels you’ll find with peers like NVIDIA (55) or AMD (115). On paper, this makes Qualcomm look like a bit of a bargain.

But investors, and Qualcomm investors in particular, know that “cheap” doesn’t always mean “undervalued.” Despite its low multiple, Qualcomm has consistently underperformed relative to its peers in recent years and hasn’t shown any signs of being able to play catch-up, but that’s what makes the current setup so interesting.

JPMorgan Just Backed the Bull Case

Late last week, the team over at JPMorgan Chase & Co. leaned into this as they published a strong update on Qualcomm. Analyst Samik Chatterjee reiterated the firm’s Overweight rating and boosted his price target up to $190. With Qualcomm closing out last week around the $154 mark, that implies a targeted upside of close to 25%. If Qualcomm shares trend up towards that level in the coming weeks, it would mean they’ve broken out of their range in the past year and could be making a move towards 2024’s all-time high.

According to Chatterjee, the upgrade reflects confidence in robust cloud-related spending in the second half of 2025. While he did note that other customer verticals remain more macro-sensitive and need monitoring, the broader tone was clearly bullish.

This kind of analyst support has been rare for Qualcomm this year, which makes it even more valuable, and the market seems to agree. The stock finished up 1.44% on Friday, July 18, while the S&P 500 index was flat, and Qualcomm shares were already climbing higher in Monday, July 21's pre-market session. 

Catalysts on the Horizon 

In addition to the favorable valuation and this latest analyst update, there’s a growing case for Qualcomm’s next earnings report to serve as a fresh catalyst. The company has a solid track record of beating analyst expectations, and with sentiment continuing to turn, another strong quarter could be enough to finally lift the stock out of its long-running sideways range.

Technically, momentum is undoubtedly building. That April uptrend is intact, and shares have continued trending higher with minimal pullbacks. If the market stays in risk-on mode and Qualcomm delivers another strong print, it’s not hard to see this rally continuing into the back half of the year.

The bears will argue this stock has burned plenty of investors in recent years, but over the past few months, it’s the bulls who’ve been rewarded. With a clean uptrend, a sub-17 P/E, and a history of beating expectations, the latest analyst update makes Qualcomm hard to ignore.