Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was down 2.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $165.77 and last traded at $166.97. Approximately 9,974,331 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 16,546,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.11.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm is expanding its growth narrative with AI-chip deals and new partnerships, including ties with a major Apple rival, which could help diversify demand beyond smartphones.
• Positive Sentiment: New Snapdragon launches are expected to support Qualcomm’s AI, PC, and handset pipeline ahead of Q3 results, giving investors a potential catalyst if execution is strong.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is closely watching Qualcomm’s upcoming earnings and key operating metrics to gauge whether recent product momentum is translating into financial improvement.
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm’s double-digit chip price increases may reflect rising input costs, but they also raise the risk of customer pushback in already price-sensitive end markets. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor stocks are under pressure from profit-taking, valuation concerns, and unwinding of leveraged AI trades, which is weighing on Qualcomm along with the rest of the sector.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Freedom Capital downgraded Qualcomm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Qualcomm to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Benchmark raised their price target on Qualcomm from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Qualcomm from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.76.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $204.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.40. The company has a market cap of $175.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.63.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 197,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,562,240. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. 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 21,721 shares of company stock valued at $4,044,465 over the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 116.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,356 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 9,343 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 44.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 6.1% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Qualcomm by 9.7% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. 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.