Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Falls 2.4% – Time to Sell?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was down 2.4% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $171.02 and last traded at $172.62. Approximately 11,124,148 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 15,301,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.86.

Qualcomm News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Arm litigation outcome strengthens Qualcomm’s CPU strategy. A Delaware jury found that Arm breached its licensing agreement with Qualcomm and interfered with Qualcomm’s relationship with Meta. Although damages were nominal at $2, the verdict affirmed Qualcomm’s right to continue developing custom Oryon CPUs, reducing a major legal risk to its AI-PC and data-center ambitions. Jury finds Arm breached license agreement with Qualcomm
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term licensing visibility improved. Qualcomm renewed its Apple license and extended its 5G patent-license agreement with Transsion through 2031. The agreements reinforce recurring royalty revenue and reduce concerns about the stability of Qualcomm’s licensing business. Qualcomm, Transsion Extend 5G Patent License Deal Until 2031 Qualcomm renews Apple license
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm is expanding its AI opportunity in home broadband. The company and partners introduced what they describe as the first AI-native Wi-Fi 8 gateway, combining next-generation connectivity with on-device edge AI. Adoption by broadband providers could create a new platform for residential AI services and broaden Qualcomm’s addressable market. Qualcomm unveils first AI-native Wi-Fi 8 gateway
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor focus remains on Qualcomm’s transition from handsets to AI. Analysts view automotive, edge AI, PCs and data-center-related opportunities as important to the long-term thesis, but execution and revenue scale remain uncertain. Qualcomm: Navigating the Shift From Handsets to AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in custom AI chips is intensifying. Reports that ByteDance is nearing a deal with MediaTek highlight the risk that Qualcomm could lose potential AI-chip business to rivals, tempering enthusiasm around its AI expansion. ByteDance reportedly closes in on MediaTek AI data-center chip pact

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on QCOM. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Qualcomm from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.10.

Qualcomm Stock Down 3.1%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $184.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.38.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced 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 return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Grech sold 625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total value of $101,781.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,872.80. The trade was a 75.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total transaction of $457,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,324,944.40. The trade was a 12.09% 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 a total of 29,131 shares of company stock worth $5,441,226 over the last three months. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baxter Bros Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth $17,844,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,068,000. Tensor Edge Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $147,315,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Qualcomm by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 48,184 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $8,904,000 after buying an additional 3,746 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,347,000. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company headquartered in San Diego, California, that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related software. Its products support mobile devices, connected computing, automotive systems, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

Qualcomm’s semiconductor business operates primarily through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies segment. Its offerings include Snapdragon platforms and systems-on-chip, cellular modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity products, and processors for smartphones, personal computers, extended-reality devices, vehicles and the Internet of Things.