Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 4.5% – Time to Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shot up 4.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $258.00 and last traded at $248.82. 30,554,819 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 95% from the average session volume of 15,643,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.16.

Trending Headlines about Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Qualcomm reached a deal with ByteDance to supply AI chips for data centers, potentially opening a new, high-growth customer and expanding Qualcomm’s AI chip exposure. Reuters article on Qualcomm strikes AI chip deal with TikTok owner ByteDance
• Positive Sentiment: Shares jumped as investors piled into AI and semiconductor names, with broader tech strength adding momentum to Qualcomm’s rally. Invezz article on AI stocks surging sharply on Tuesday
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm is also benefiting from an expanded Stellantis partnership that could boost adoption of its Snapdragon Digital Chassis in connected vehicles. Yahoo Finance article on Qualcomm’s expanded Stellantis tie-up
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm remains a widely watched trending stock, with investor attention elevated after the recent rally. Zacks article on Qualcomm being a trending stock
• Negative Sentiment: A congressional sale of Qualcomm shares near record highs may add a small overhang, though it appears secondary to the stronger AI and partnership-driven upside. Yahoo Finance article on congressional Qualcomm stock sales

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on QCOM. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Qualcomm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Qualcomm from a “positive” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Up 4.5%

The firm has a market cap of $262.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 29.50 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.19.

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

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.70%.

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

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,065,677.70. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total value of $167,267.33. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Qualcomm in the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. WNY Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Qualcomm in the 1st quarter valued at about $279,000. Wellington Grp LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 100.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 417 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 259.6% in the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 597 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in Qualcomm by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 34,456 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.