Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was down 2.2% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $175.35 and last traded at $177.12. Approximately 7,865,659 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 15,441,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.03.

Qualcomm News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center growth could provide a major catalyst. Qualcomm has reportedly added Amazon and ByteDance as custom AI-chip customers, potentially creating a significant revenue stream beyond handsets. Its edge-AI strategy also includes new Snapdragon chips that run more AI workloads directly on smartphones. Qualcomm Could Have a Much Bigger AI Story Than Investors Think
• Positive Sentiment: Automotive remains a strong diversification engine. Qualcomm’s automotive revenue grew 61.4% year over year in the latest quarter, helping offset concerns about declining U.S. electric-vehicle sales. Qualcomm Can Grow Even as U.S. EV Sales Fall
• Positive Sentiment: New licensing and government opportunities broaden Qualcomm’s reach. A multiyear Huawei patent agreement covers 5G, computing, and AI, while a collaboration with OKSI will deploy autonomy software on Qualcomm technologies for unmanned platforms. The Huawei arrangement remains subject to FTC review. Qualcomm’s Huawei Deal Adds Strategic Depth to Its AI Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and market expectations are mixed. Analysts’ reported price targets have a median of $225, but coverage is divided, with both buy and underweight opinions. Investors are watching whether Qualcomm’s AI investments can justify its valuation after a sizable six-month advance.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term fundamentals remain challenging. Qualcomm faces weaker handset demand, faster declines in Apple-related revenue, licensing pressure, and margin concerns. Its latest reported quarter included a 4% year-over-year revenue decline and a slight EPS miss, while the data-center opportunity is still unproven and faces intense competition. QCOM Lags Industry Year to Date
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-return and insider signals are unfavorable. Commentary highlights Qualcomm’s suspension of its dividend amid handset weakness, while reported insider activity shows substantial selling and no open-market purchases over the past six months. Skyworks vs Qualcomm

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. DZ Bank raised Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Qualcomm to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut shares of Qualcomm to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.10.

Qualcomm Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.09. The company has a market cap of $189.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.65.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Research analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In related news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,372,106.40. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total transaction of $457,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,324,944.40. This trade represents a 12.09% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 31,631 shares of company stock worth $5,893,251. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 20.0% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 14,441 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at $242,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 204,726 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $37,831,000 after purchasing an additional 23,009 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Qualcomm by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 48,184 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $8,904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Qualcomm by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,763,263 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $9,750,123,000 after buying an additional 671,537 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company headquartered in San Diego, California, that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related software. Its products support mobile devices, connected computing, automotive systems, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

Qualcomm’s semiconductor business operates primarily through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies segment. Its offerings include Snapdragon platforms and systems-on-chip, cellular modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity products, and processors for smartphones, personal computers, extended-reality devices, vehicles and the Internet of Things.