Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 3% – Time to Sell?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was down 3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $235.32 and last traded at $242.57. Approximately 14,013,028 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 16,013,419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Qualcomm from a “positive” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Qualcomm from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 1.59.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This is an increase from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.70%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the wireless technology company to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $35,562,240. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,306 shares of company stock valued at $3,435,583. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 17,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.