Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 2.4% – Time to Sell?

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

Key Qualcomm News

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 Analyst Weigh In

QCOM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Dbs Bank upgraded Qualcomm to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Qualcomm from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.76.

Qualcomm Price 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.63.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total value of $167,267.33. The sale was disclosed in a 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 197,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,562,240. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 21,721 shares of company stock worth $4,044,465 in the last 90 days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Qualcomm by 116.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,356 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 9,343 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 boosted its stake in 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 grew its holdings 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 worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.