Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyQualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $129.77 and last traded at $129.90. Approximately 78,335,394 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 576% from the average daily volume of 11,594,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.28.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Qualcomm
Qualcomm Stock Performance
The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.52. The stock has a market cap of $138.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 44.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. Research analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Qualcomm Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is 73.55%.
Qualcomm declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the wireless technology company to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm
In other Qualcomm news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total transaction of $458,787.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,202.35. This represents a 8.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,866 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,796. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Qualcomm by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,144,068 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $19,524,350,000 after acquiring an additional 647,076 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,667,047 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $8,547,014,000 after acquiring an additional 420,352 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Qualcomm by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,931,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221,924 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,713,603,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,727,862 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,861,301,000 after purchasing an additional 4,290,622 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.
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.