Qualcomm Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 302,615 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 203% compared to the typical daily volume of 99,719 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total transaction of $167,267.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total transaction of $325,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,684 shares in the company, valued at $3,999,352.56. This represents a 7.53% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $11,103,000 after buying an additional 8,130 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,533,420 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $262,291,000 after buying an additional 23,110 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after buying an additional 6,018 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,690 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $24,578,000 after buying an additional 7,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 40,009 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $6,844,000 after buying an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “sell” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Qualcomm to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stellantis expanded its multi-year technology partnership with Qualcomm, strengthening Qualcomm’s position in AI-enabled connected and autonomous vehicles. Qualcomm soars 12% as Stellantis deepens AI vehicle partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted Qualcomm’s strong comeback and suggested the rally may continue, with some calling for meaningful further upside. Prediction: Analysts Say Qualcomm Stock Is Set For A Massive Breakout
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage framed Qualcomm as a beneficiary of broader AI and mobile-chip enthusiasm, with shares moving alongside other chip names such as Skyworks and Qorvo. Qualcomm Surges 12%, Skyworks Rallies 9%, Qorvo Rises 7%
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider and congressional stock sales were disclosed, but they appear modest relative to Qualcomm’s size and some transactions were pre-arranged, so the impact is likely limited. Patricia Grech Sells 829 Shares of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock

Qualcomm Stock Up 11.6%

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $238.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $251.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 1.49. Qualcomm has a 52 week low of $121.99 and a 52 week high of $247.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.89.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Analysts predict that Qualcomm will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

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

Qualcomm announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.