Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 1.6% – Time to Sell?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price dropped 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $132.05 and last traded at $133.95. Approximately 10,074,569 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 11,017,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.07.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The market is watching April 29 as a potential near-term catalyst for QCOM; the article outlines why investors should pay attention to that date (possible corporate/earnings event). Why is April 29 important for Qualcomm investors?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent intraday action shows QCOM ended a multi-day winning streak and has pulled back from recent highs — a technical/short-term sentiment shift for traders. Qualcomm snaps nine-day winning streak
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reinstated coverage with an Underweight rating and a $130 price target, citing handset weakness and limited near-term catalysts — the note renews sell-side pressure on QCOM. Barclays Reinstates Qualcomm at Underweight With a $130 Target
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and valuation notes argue handset demand is weakening, memory costs are rising and there are few near-term catalysts — a set of observations that is pressuring QCOM’s outlook and multiple. A Look At Qualcomm (QCOM) Valuation As Analyst Downgrades Highlight Handset Weakness
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlights analyst expectations for a decline in upcoming earnings — lower near-term EPS estimates raise the risk of a guidance miss or muted outlook. Analysts Estimate Qualcomm (QCOM) to Report a Decline in Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Comparisons to smaller peer Cirrus Logic portray CRUS as a better buy on rising estimates and lower valuation, while calling out QCOM’s supply constraints and cautious handset demand — a narrative that can shift investor allocations away from QCOM. Cirrus Logic vs. Qualcomm: Which Mobile Chip Stock is the Better Buy?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Evercore cut their price objective on Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered Qualcomm from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Qualcomm in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.25.

Qualcomm Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.73.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. Research analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 73.55%.

Qualcomm announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total value of $458,787.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,900,202.35. This trade represents a 8.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,233,705. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Qualcomm by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 17,581 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Qualcomm by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its position in Qualcomm by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 23,902 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in Qualcomm by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 39,136 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $5,040,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Qualcomm by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 12,821 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 6,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Qualcomm Company Profile

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.