Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 11.6% – Time to Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was up 11.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $243.00 and last traded at $238.16. Approximately 30,204,359 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 95% from the average daily volume of 15,488,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.41.

Key Stories Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stellantis expanded its multi-year technology partnership with Qualcomm, strengthening Qualcomm’s position in AI-enabled connected and autonomous vehicles. Qualcomm soars 12% as Stellantis deepens AI vehicle partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted Qualcomm’s strong comeback and suggested the rally may continue, with some calling for meaningful further upside. Prediction: Analysts Say Qualcomm Stock Is Set For A Massive Breakout
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage framed Qualcomm as a beneficiary of broader AI and mobile-chip enthusiasm, with shares moving alongside other chip names such as Skyworks and Qorvo. Qualcomm Surges 12%, Skyworks Rallies 9%, Qorvo Rises 7%
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider and congressional stock sales were disclosed, but they appear modest relative to Qualcomm’s size and some transactions were pre-arranged, so the impact is likely limited. Patricia Grech Sells 829 Shares of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on QCOM shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus set a $220.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Up 11.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $251.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 29.50 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $154.82 and its 200 day moving average is $158.89.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. The business’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. Analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.70%.

Qualcomm declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to buy 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 related news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares in the company, valued at $35,562,240. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 14.3% in the 4th 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 period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,533,420 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $262,291,000 after purchasing an additional 23,110 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,018 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,690 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $24,578,000 after purchasing an additional 7,804 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 40,009 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $6,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.