Morgan Stanley Lowers Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Price Target to $220.00

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $231.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the wireless technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 49.04% from the stock’s previous close.

QCOM has been the topic of several other research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $140.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.63.

Qualcomm Trading Down 2.6%

QCOM opened at $147.61 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $198.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Qualcomm has a 12 month low of $121.99 and a 12 month high of $259.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.63.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. Qualcomm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Qualcomm will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.90, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,184 shares in the company, valued at $5,972,189.60. This represents a 8.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,529 shares of company stock valued at $4,011,441. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,144,068 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $19,524,350,000 after purchasing an additional 647,076 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,931,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221,924 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,727,862 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,861,301,000 after purchasing an additional 4,290,622 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,591,056,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 12,671,635 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,136,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,541 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s fiscal third-quarter revenue reached $9.95 billion, exceeding expectations, while Automotive and IoT growth offset weakness in handsets. Automotive revenue reached a record level, and management raised its automotive outlook to approximately $7 billion. QCOM Q2 Deep Dive: Data Center and Automotive Growth Offset Smartphone Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding into AI, data centers and connected vehicles, targeting $40 billion in non-handset revenue by fiscal 2029. These initiatives could reduce Qualcomm’s dependence on smartphones and Apple over time. QCOM Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor-focused ETFs attracted substantial inflows this week as strong technology earnings improved sentiment across the chip sector, providing a supportive backdrop for Qualcomm and other semiconductor stocks. Semiconductor ETFs Draw Cash This Week as Chip Stocks Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm’s next-quarter revenue outlook, with a midpoint of $10.1 billion, was slightly above analyst expectations. However, analysts remain divided: TD Cowen and Rosenblatt maintained buy ratings after reducing their price targets, while UBS, Susquehanna and Morgan Stanley also lowered targets amid increased risk concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted third-quarter earnings of $2.21 per share narrowly missed consensus estimates and declined from $2.77 a year earlier. The company’s forecast for roughly $2.05–$2.25 in next-quarter EPS was viewed as weak, reflecting rising memory costs and margin pressure. Qualcomm shares slide as higher costs, Apple-related weakness cloud profit forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that Apple-related revenue declines are accelerating as Apple expands its own modem capabilities. Handset revenue fell about 20%, raising concerns that near-term smartphone weakness will outweigh growth in Automotive, IoT and data-center businesses. Qualcomm forecasts weak quarterly profit, expects Apple revenue drop to accelerate

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.