Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 140,153 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 29% compared to the average daily volume of 108,956 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $200.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.10.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total value of $470,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,372,106.40. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total transaction of $457,125.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,324,944.40. The trade was a 12.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 21,533 shares of company stock valued at $3,874,969 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,583,115,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Qualcomm by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,763,263 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $9,750,123,000 after purchasing an additional 671,537 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,931,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221,924 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 22.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,202,619 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,178,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,179,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at $2,591,056,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualcomm Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $9.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $204.11. The stock had a trading volume of 10,110,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,625,910. Qualcomm has a 52 week low of $121.99 and a 52 week high of $259.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.09. 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 $214.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.68.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Qualcomm will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 42.59%.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s renewed global patent-licensing agreement with Apple provides continued royalty revenue and signals that Apple remains willing to maintain a strategic relationship with the chipmaker. Buyers returned after initially viewing the announcement negatively. Qualcomm rallies as buyers reverse Apple renewal selloff
• Positive Sentiment: New Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 smartphone processors emphasize on-device and agentic AI, supporting Qualcomm’s effort to expand beyond conventional smartphone modem sales and potentially improve premium-chip demand. Why Qualcomm is pushing AI from phones to cars and edge devices
• Positive Sentiment: Management is positioning automotive, robotics and other edge devices as major long-term growth markets. Qualcomm’s PickNik Robotics acquisition and automotive strategy could help build a broader physical-AI ecosystem and reduce reliance on handsets. Qualcomm CEO discusses automotive and physical AI strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 targets AI-enabled wearables with on-device processing, advanced audio and connectivity. The product broadens Qualcomm’s addressable market, although its effect on near-term earnings is not yet clear. Qualcomm targets the AI wearables market
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that the Apple agreement’s terms are ambiguous and that Apple could eventually reduce its modem dependence on Qualcomm. CEO Cristiano Amon also sold 10,000 shares for $1.95 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the transaction is a modest negative signal but does not necessarily indicate a change in his outlook. Qualcomm stock and the ambiguous Apple patent agreement

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related intellectual property. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company serves customers and partners worldwide across the mobile, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial markets.

Through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) business, Qualcomm designs and supplies integrated circuits, system software and hardware platforms. Its products include Snapdragon mobile platforms, 5G and other wireless modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity solutions, processors and artificial intelligence technologies.