Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Jumps 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares rose 3.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $179.21 and last traded at $178.40. Approximately 11,739,130 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 15,283,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.62.

Qualcomm News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm appears to have prevailed in its licensing dispute with Arm. A Delaware jury found that Arm breached its license agreement with Qualcomm, supporting Qualcomm’s position in a dispute that could have affected the company’s ability to use Arm-based designs. The verdict is a potential legal and strategic win, although further proceedings may still be required. Jury finds Arm breached license agreement with Qualcomm
• Positive Sentiment: A renewed Apple licensing agreement improves revenue visibility. Qualcomm’s continued licensing relationship with Apple helps support its high-margin patent-licensing business, even as Apple works to develop more of its own modem technology. Qualcomm renews Apple license
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm expanded its 5G licensing coverage with Transsion through 2031. The extended agreement provides longer-term royalty visibility in emerging smartphone markets. Qualcomm, Transsion Extend 5G Patent License Deal
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched an AI-native Wi-Fi 8 gateway. The product combines next-generation connectivity with edge AI computing, supporting Qualcomm’s strategy to diversify beyond smartphones into home broadband and AI-enabled devices. Qualcomm unveils AI-native Wi-Fi 8 gateway
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Qualcomm as a cash-generative wireless technology company with growth opportunities in automotive, AI and other markets, but investors remain focused on the pace of its transition away from handset dependence. Qualcomm: Navigating the shift from handsets to AI
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide chip selling is pressuring QCOM. Qualcomm’s legal win has not prevented broader weakness across semiconductor stocks, with investors reducing exposure to chipmakers. Chip selloff following Qualcomm verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Samsung could replace Qualcomm’s chip in the Galaxy S27 Ultra if thermal issues persist raise concerns about flagship handset share and Qualcomm’s near-term mobile revenue. Samsung may swap Galaxy S27 Ultra chip
• Negative Sentiment: MediaTek’s reported progress toward an AI data-center chip pact with ByteDance highlights increasing competition in Qualcomm’s effort to build an AI and data-center business. ByteDance and MediaTek AI chip pact

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on QCOM shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.10.

Qualcomm Stock Down 3.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $175.02 and a 200-day moving average of $179.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $183.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.65.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In related news, EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total value of $470,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,535 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,106.40. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ann Chaplin sold 1,827 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $319,268.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,503,307.50. This trade represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 30,958 shares of company stock worth $5,760,494 over the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth $17,583,115,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,523,930,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,178,349,000. Amundi grew its stake in Qualcomm by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,195,741 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,884,071,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Qualcomm by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,202,619 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,178,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,179,720 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company headquartered in San Diego, California, that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related software. Its products support mobile devices, connected computing, automotive systems, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

Qualcomm’s semiconductor business operates primarily through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies segment. Its offerings include Snapdragon platforms and systems-on-chip, cellular modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity products, and processors for smartphones, personal computers, extended-reality devices, vehicles and the Internet of Things.