Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 6.2% – Should You Sell?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price dropped 6.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $224.18 and last traded at $233.40. Approximately 25,519,986 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 62% from the average daily volume of 15,742,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.82.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm reportedly secured a custom ASIC/AI chip supply deal with ByteDance for AI data centers, a win that could meaningfully expand revenue and validate its push into higher-margin data center markets. Qualcomm strikes AI chip deal with TikTok owner ByteDance, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports said the news sparked a broad rally in Qualcomm shares, with traders betting the company’s AI/data center opportunity is bigger than previously expected and could re-rate the stock versus other semiconductor names. Qualcomm shares jump following report of massive ByteDance AI chip order
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces highlighted Qualcomm as a trending stock and ran price-prediction discussions, reflecting increased investor attention rather than a new fundamental catalyst. QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: There is some execution and regulatory risk around the ByteDance opportunity, since export controls and China-related restrictions could affect future deliveries or the size of the revenue opportunity.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group raised Qualcomm from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $220.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Down 6.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.68. The company has a market capitalization of $246.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 29.50 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.Qualcomm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 38.70%.

Qualcomm announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,065,677.70. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares in the company, valued at $35,562,240. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,306 shares of company stock valued at $3,435,583 over the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Qualcomm by 90.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Qualcomm by 17,000.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.