Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) EVP Akash Palkhiwala Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $408,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,684 shares in the company, valued at $3,376,869.84. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Qualcomm Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.07. 7,722,595 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,246,428. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.67. The company has a market cap of $171.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.65. Qualcomm Incorporated has a 52-week low of $121.99 and a 52-week high of $259.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%.The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.59%.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s neural-processing-unit (NPU) strategy could benefit from rising demand for on-device AI in PCs, smartphones and other hardware. This raises the possibility of a broader hardware upgrade cycle and provides a bullish counterpoint to concerns about slowing handset revenue. Forget the Cloud: Qualcomm’s NPU Play May Trigger a Hardware Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: One market commentary argues that investors may be underestimating Qualcomm’s potential, particularly if the company can reduce its dependence on smartphones and expand in automotive, IoT and AI-related markets. Prediction: This Chipmaker Could Be a Bigger Winner Than Investors Think
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm is among the semiconductor companies expected to receive attention during Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club call, which could increase near-term investor focus but does not represent a fundamental change. 5 Semiconductor Stocks Jim Cramer Could Be Talking About on Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm’s latest quarter included a small EPS miss, year-over-year revenue and earnings declines, and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion. The company said the bottom may be near, but the results reinforce concerns about handset weakness. QUALCOMM Issued Q4 Guidance, Is The 17% Discount Enough?
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group reduced its FY2026 EPS forecast to $7.71 from $7.91 and its FY2027 forecast to $7.46 from $7.90, signaling weaker expected profitability than previously anticipated.
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares worth approximately $408,000. The sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance, but it may still add modest selling pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Qualcomm, Zacks views Intel as the better chip investment because of stronger projected 2026 growth and AI-PC momentum, highlighting concerns about Qualcomm’s slower near-term growth profile. Intel vs. Qualcomm: Which Chip Stock is the Better Buy Now?

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Qualcomm by 0.6% during 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 last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Qualcomm in the second quarter worth $17,583,115,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Qualcomm by 12.5% in 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 boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter worth $2,591,056,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank upgraded Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Qualcomm from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Qualcomm currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.63.

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.