Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Climb 2.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded up 2.5% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $184.42 and last traded at $184.17. 12,050,791 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 15,053,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.60.

Trending Headlines about Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm and defense-technology company Anduril Industries launched BlueChip, an initiative to design and manufacture secure, U.S.-made laptops for defense, public-safety and government customers. The partnership could expand Qualcomm’s role in domestic computing and benefit from government demand for resilient supply chains, though the near-term revenue contribution is not yet known. Anduril and Qualcomm launch BlueChip to onshore computer manufacturing
• Positive Sentiment: Reports indicate exchange-traded funds were buying QCOM shares, which may be providing incremental support from institutional or passive investment flows. ETFs Are Buying Qualcomm (QCOM) on Oct. 23
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm reaffirmed its quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, reinforcing the income case for shareholders and supporting the view that the stock may be undervalued after its recent pullback. Is QUALCOMM (QCOM) Undervalued After Reaffirming Its Dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm recently recovered alongside broader market interest, but commentary notes that the shares had fallen about 13% over the preceding month, reflecting elevated volatility rather than a clear change in fundamentals. Qualcomm Just Dropped 13% in a Month
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Samsung’s Exynos 2700 may outperform Qualcomm’s chips and appear in the Galaxy S27 could raise concerns about competition and potential handset-related share losses. Samsung Exynos 2700 Report
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm is planning worldwide job cuts, increasing investor scrutiny of operating costs and the company’s upcoming results. The broader semiconductor selloff has also weighed on sentiment toward QCOM. Qualcomm Worldwide Job Cuts

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on QCOM. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna raised their price target on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $159.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.83.

Qualcomm Stock Up 2.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $196.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.41.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is 42.59%.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 177,568 shares in the company, valued at $35,513,600. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Grech sold 208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $35,360.00. 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. Insiders have sold 33,458 shares of company stock valued at $6,198,144 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baxter Bros Inc. purchased a new position in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth $17,844,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Qualcomm in the second quarter worth about $28,068,000. Tensor Edge Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Qualcomm in the second quarter worth about $147,315,000. Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the third quarter worth about $2,403,000. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 40.5% during the third quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 34,184 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $6,291,000 after acquiring an additional 9,858 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a technology company that develops and commercializes wireless communications and semiconductor technologies. Through Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, the company designs integrated circuits, system software and related platforms used in smartphones, personal computers, automobiles, industrial equipment, consumer devices and other connected products. Its Snapdragon platforms support mobile computing, connectivity, artificial intelligence and multimedia applications, while its broader portfolio includes radio-frequency systems, networking and edge-computing technologies.

Qualcomm also operates a significant technology-licensing business through its Qualcomm Technology Licensing segment.