Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price was up 2.1% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $181.00 and last traded at $179.60. 9,583,072 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 15,077,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Arete Research raised Qualcomm to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Monday, September 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.83.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.65.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $319,268.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,770 shares in the company, valued at $4,503,307.50. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 177,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,513,600. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 33,458 shares of company stock worth $6,198,144 in the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 4.9% during the third quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,761 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 156.0% in the third quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd now owns 30,986 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $5,703,000 after acquiring an additional 18,884 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its position in Qualcomm by 1.8% during the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 5,947 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp raised its stake in Qualcomm by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 138,305 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $25,454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 64 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 technology company that develops and commercializes wireless communications and semiconductor technologies. Through Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, the company designs integrated circuits, system software and related platforms used in smartphones, personal computers, automobiles, industrial equipment, consumer devices and other connected products. Its Snapdragon platforms support mobile computing, connectivity, artificial intelligence and multimedia applications, while its broader portfolio includes radio-frequency systems, networking and edge-computing technologies.

Qualcomm also operates a significant technology-licensing business through its Qualcomm Technology Licensing segment.