Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $162.60 and last traded at $160.39. 7,109,018 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 16,447,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Qualcomm from $200.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $250.00 to $160.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital downgraded Qualcomm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Qualcomm to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.63.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $168.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 1.65. 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 50 day moving average price of $193.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.47.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 42.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.81, for a total transaction of $452,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,191,899.04. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,535 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,106.40. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,529 shares of company stock worth $2,112,945 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Qualcomm by 17,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors 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.