Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 3.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price rose 3.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $255.09 and last traded at $250.01. Approximately 19,218,528 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 16,031,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum raised shares of Qualcomm to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Summit Insights raised Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $242.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.Qualcomm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is currently 38.70%.

Qualcomm announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the wireless technology company to purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total transaction of $325,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,999,352.56. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,562,240. This trade represents 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 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583 in the last 90 days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 17,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

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.