Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shot up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $134.05 and last traded at $131.59. 10,373,780 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 10,328,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Daiwa Securities Group cut Qualcomm from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Qualcomm in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.00.

Qualcomm Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a market cap of $140.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted 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 business had revenue of $12.25 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid 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 presently 73.55%.

Qualcomm announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In related news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,404 shares of company stock worth $1,921,357. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,713,603,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Qualcomm by 141.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,437,240 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,069,059,000 after purchasing an additional 7,292,783 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Qualcomm by 38.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 11,533,094 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,866,451,000 after buying an additional 3,186,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,645,603 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,163,030,000 after buying an additional 2,771,490 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.