Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM)

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 105,574 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 73% compared to the typical daily volume of 61,147 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Arete raised shares of QUALCOMM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho raised their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen raised QUALCOMM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 150,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.56, for a total value of $24,834,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,718,770.24. The trade was a 50.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total value of $82,567.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 203 shares in the company, valued at $32,672.85. This trade represents a 71.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 164,661 shares of company stock valued at $27,292,820 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. waypoint wealth counsel increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 2.2% during the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 2,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 0.6% in the third quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 10,085 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 1.8% in the second quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 3,488 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of QCOM stock traded up $4.32 on Wednesday, hitting $175.02. 5,039,392 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,760,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.73. QUALCOMM has a one year low of $120.80 and a one year high of $205.95.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The wireless technology company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 43.22% and a net margin of 12.51%.The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. QUALCOMM has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.300-3.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.80%.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products.