Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 1.4% Following Insider Selling

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price was down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $171.15 and last traded at $176.9950. Approximately 20,825,173 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the average daily volume of 12,795,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.58.

Specifically, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $33,024.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on QCOM. DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.40.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat and segment strength — Qualcomm reported Q2 non‑GAAP EPS above consensus and highlighted strength in automotive and licensing that underpinned the upside. Yahoo: Qualcomm (QCOM) Posts Stellar Q2
• Positive Sentiment: Hyperscaler/data‑center catalyst — CEO comments that Qualcomm will begin shipping custom data‑center chips to “a large hyperscaler” this year shifted the narrative from handsets to AI infrastructure and is the main driver of the recent re‑rating. Reuters: Qualcomm shares jump
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — Several firms raised ratings/targets (e.g., Benchmark, Rosenblatt, Summit Insights upgrades), which reinforces buy‑side momentum and amplifies flows into the stock. American Banking News: Summit Insights upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Share buyback and dividend boost — Management has an active $20B buyback authorization and recently raised the quarterly dividend, both of which support EPS accretion and shareholder returns. MarketBeat: QCOM company page
• Neutral Sentiment: Technicals & momentum — Chart indicators show an overbought setup after a sharp rally; that attracts momentum traders but raises the chance of short‑term volatility. Barron’s: Technicals
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows mixed — Large funds have both added and trimmed positions recently; heavy institutional ownership means analyst calls and flows can move the stock quickly. MarketBeat: Week in Review
• Negative Sentiment: Weaker Q3 guidance and memory‑supply headwind — Q3 revenue/EPS guidance came in below Street expectations and management cited a memory shortage that could depress handset demand near term; that was the cause of earlier post‑earnings weakness. Reuters: Forecast underwhelms
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling flagged — A CAO sale under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan was disclosed; it’s small and planned, but ongoing insider sales elsewhere have drawn investor attention. SEC filing: insider sale

Qualcomm Stock Down 1.4%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 1.28.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 43.63% and a net margin of 22.31%.Qualcomm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 8.21 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Qualcomm declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,144,068 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $19,524,350,000 after purchasing an additional 647,076 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 3,221,924 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Qualcomm by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,727,862 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,861,301,000 after buying an additional 4,290,622 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,591,056,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Qualcomm by 9.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 12,671,635 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,136,486,000 after buying an additional 1,138,541 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.