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

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was up 1.2% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $174.41 and last traded at $173.53. 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.

Qualcomm News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QCOM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Qualcomm from $198.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Oppenheimer set a $200.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.13.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $178.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.70.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The wireless technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 28.98%.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In related news, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 177,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,513,600. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ann Chaplin sold 1,501 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total value of $242,471.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,405,357.34. The trade was a 5.22% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,020 shares of company stock worth $6,509,561. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Team Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Burk Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 191.7% in the second quarter. Burk Holdings LLC now owns 210 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.