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

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price was up 1.3% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $178.99 and last traded at $177.96. 7,154,637 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 15,153,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.71.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.92 per share. The dividend is payable December 17 to shareholders of record December 3, reinforcing Qualcomm’s shareholder-return profile and potentially supporting income-focused demand. Qualcomm Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $200 from $175 and upgraded QCOM to “Buy.” The call signals improved confidence in Qualcomm’s valuation and longer-term growth prospects.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s planned acquisition of PickNik Robotics could expand its physical-AI opportunity. The deal may strengthen the Dragonwing ecosystem and provide exposure to industrial robotics and edge-computing growth beyond smartphones. Can Qualcomm’s PickNik Acquisition Strengthen Its Robotics Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm reportedly plans global job cuts following performance reviews. Restructuring could improve efficiency and margins, but the scale, timing and execution costs remain unclear. Qualcomm to Cut Jobs Worldwide in Performance-Focused Layoffs
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm outperformed the broader market in the prior session, indicating favorable near-term momentum, although the move was not linked to a fresh earnings report.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares worth approximately $437,650. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing its negative significance, but it adds to concerns about ongoing insider selling. Qualcomm Insider Share Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Recent operating results remain a concern. Qualcomm’s latest reported quarter included a modest EPS miss, 4% year-over-year revenue decline and lower EPS than the prior-year period, highlighting pressure on its core business.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Qualcomm from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Oppenheimer set a $200.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Qualcomm from $198.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.83.

Qualcomm Stock Up 1.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $175.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $190.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, CAO Patricia Grech sold 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $35,360.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 177,568 shares in the company, valued at $35,513,600. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 33,458 shares of company stock worth $6,198,144 in the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter valued at $17,583,115,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,763,263 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $9,750,123,000 after acquiring an additional 671,537 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Qualcomm by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,202,619 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,178,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,179,720 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Qualcomm by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,195,741 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,884,071,000 after acquiring an additional 4,942,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,523,930,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.