Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 3.5% – Should You Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares shot up 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $203.59 and last traded at $202.51. 18,792,898 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 15,200,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on QCOM. Mizuho reduced their price target on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Qualcomm from a “positive” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.89 and a 200-day moving average of $157.92. The company has a market capitalization of $213.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.22 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This is a boost from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.70%.

Qualcomm announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the wireless technology company to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,065,677.70. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,562,240. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,477 shares of company stock worth $3,268,316 in the last 90 days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in Qualcomm by 1.8% during the first quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,333 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Qualcomm by 1.5% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its position in Qualcomm by 0.6% during the third quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 10,085 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its position in Qualcomm by 2.6% during the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Qualcomm by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,401 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.