Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares were up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $174.41 and last traded at $173.53. Approximately 8,361,282 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 15,165,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.47.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Automotive revenue rose 89% to a record $1.99 billion. Qualcomm also expects non-handset revenue to grow more than 60% in fiscal 2027, supporting its effort to diversify beyond smartphones. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s latest reported quarter slightly beat earnings expectations, with $2.17 in EPS and $10.44 billion in revenue versus estimates of $2.16 and $10.12 billion, respectively. Earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and retained 39,379 shares. The planned transaction is not necessarily a signal about the company’s prospects. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded QCOM from Buy to Hold and lowered its price target to $185 from $200, citing expectations that investment in newer growth businesses will pressure margins longer than anticipated. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Weakness in the core handset business remains a concern: handset revenue fell 26%, while earnings guidance came in below expectations. Quarterly revenue was also down 8.4% year over year, despite the modest beat against analyst estimates. Article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on QCOM. Freedom Broker lowered shares of Qualcomm from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $235.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $200.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.13.

Qualcomm Stock Up 1.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $178.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.60. The stock has a market cap of $185.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The wireless technology company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.01. Qualcomm had a net margin of 31.60% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of the 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 $35,513,600. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.42, for a total transaction of $529,344.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,514,074.18. This represents a 7.52% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,020 shares of company stock valued at $6,509,561. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 8.5% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm in the 3rd quarter valued at $247,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 21,086 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 3rd quarter worth $834,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 80,959 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $14,900,000 after acquiring an additional 10,717 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies and semiconductor products. Its chips and related systems are used in smartphones and other connected devices, with products spanning mobile processors, modem-radio frequency systems, and connectivity solutions. The Snapdragon brand includes platforms for mobile devices as well as computing, automotive, and extended-reality applications. Qualcomm also develops technology for automotive systems and the Internet of Things, including connectivity and processing solutions for vehicles, industrial equipment, and consumer devices.