Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 2.1% – Still a Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price traded up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $191.91 and last traded at $188.71. 12,059,727 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 15,497,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is reportedly expected to attend the September 24 Trump-Xi summit alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Potential discussions about AI standards, chip access and development could improve Qualcomm’s visibility in the expanding AI ecosystem. Trump-Xi Dinner Next Week Brings AI Titans To The Table
• Positive Sentiment: At roughly 22 times earnings, Qualcomm remains less expensive than many large chip stocks. Its investments in AI infrastructure could eventually narrow that valuation discount if new products generate meaningful growth. Qualcomm’s Discount Could Vanish if Its AI Bet Pays Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ overall consensus rating is “Hold,” indicating that expectations are balanced after the stock’s recent advance. A recent analysis also described the shares as fairly priced after a substantial run, limiting the immediate catalyst for additional gains. Qualcomm Receives Consensus Rating of Hold
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate decline appears driven partly by profit-taking, with Qualcomm giving back some of its recent rally as semiconductor peers Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo also weakened. Qualcomm Drops as Past Month’s Rally Unwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns are increasing about semiconductor costs, weaker handset demand, product mix and declining Apple-related revenue. These pressures could weigh on Qualcomm’s margins and earnings growth. Qualcomm Faces Margin Pressure From Rising Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Qualcomm from “Hold” to “Strong Sell,” adding to bearish sentiment. The downgrade reinforces concerns that the company’s AI pivot may not yet offset challenges in its core smartphone business. Qualcomm Faces Margin Pressure From Rising Costs

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $198.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Qualcomm from $200.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.10.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.23. The firm has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total value of $457,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,324,944.40. The trade was a 12.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Grech sold 625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total value of $101,781.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,872.80. This represents a 75.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,533 shares of company stock worth $1,924,969 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter worth about $17,583,115,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,179,720 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter worth $2,591,056,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Qualcomm by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,645,603 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,163,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771,490 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related intellectual property. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company serves customers and partners worldwide across the mobile, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial markets.

Through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) business, Qualcomm designs and supplies integrated circuits, system software and hardware platforms. Its products include Snapdragon mobile platforms, 5G and other wireless modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity solutions, processors and artificial intelligence technologies.