Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.3% – What’s Next?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $131.93 and last traded at $130.35. Approximately 6,664,088 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 11,484,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Loop Capital upgraded Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Qualcomm from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.00.

Qualcomm Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $139.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.92.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. Qualcomm had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 44.09%. The firm had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.55%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total transaction of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,245,841. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total transaction of $458,787.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,202.35. This represents a 8.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,866 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,796 over the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,539,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,896,000. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,004,339 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $167,082,000 after buying an additional 16,738 shares during the period. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 3rd quarter valued at about $725,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.