QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Argus lowered their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $180.00. The stock had previously closed at $148.89, but opened at $132.92. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. QUALCOMM shares last traded at $135.4950, with a volume of 10,560,051 shares traded.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on QCOM. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna cut shares of QUALCOMM from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.68.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.12, for a total transaction of $1,751,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,845,901.36. This trade represents a 18.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total transaction of $82,567.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,672.85. The trade was a 71.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 43,017 shares of company stock worth $7,462,875 over the last quarter. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting QUALCOMM

Here are the key news stories impacting QUALCOMM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Qualcomm reported adjusted EPS of $3.50 and strong revenue in automotive/handsets, beating consensus and showing demand in non‑handset end markets. Qualcomm Surpasses Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see upside — Several firms cut price targets but kept positive stances (Argus lowered PT to $180, JPMorgan to $185, Rosenblatt reiterated buy), leaving multi‑dozen percent upside from current levels according to those shops; this supports short‑covering/relief buying. Analyst Price Target Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Market view is mixed/hold consensus — Broker consensus sits around “Hold” as firms reassess forward visibility; that keeps headline analyst guidance fragmented and can sustain volatility until memory supply clarity arrives. Consensus Rating of Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Technicals/positioning matter — Coverage notes Qualcomm has moved back to 2020 price levels and is extremely oversold; that can produce sharp, short‑term bounces even if fundamentals remain challenged. Qualcomm Is Back at 2020 Levels
• Negative Sentiment: Weak Q2 guidance driven by memory shortage — Management warned memory constraints will limit handset shipments and revenue in the near term; that outlook triggered the large post‑earnings drop and remains the main fundamental headwind. Memory Shortage Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts and downgrades — Some firms (Evercore cut PT to $134, Bank of America moved to neutral) reduced forecasts after the cautious outlook, increasing near‑term downside risk if memory issues persist. Analyst Forecast Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Volatility risk remains high — The combination of supply uncertainty, heavy post‑earnings selling, and mixed analyst views means QCOM can swing sharply; expect elevated intraday moves and headline sensitivity until memory supply trends or handset orders normalize. CNBC Coverage of Selloff

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 72.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 113.5% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 190 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $146.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $167.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.91.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The company had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.41 EPS. QUALCOMM’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. QUALCOMM has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 72.80%.

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.