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

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $157.00 to $134.00. The stock had previously closed at $148.89, but opened at $132.92. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. QUALCOMM shares last traded at $135.4950, with a volume of 10,560,051 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on QUALCOMM from $165.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna lowered QUALCOMM from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.28.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, EVP Ann C. Chaplin sold 7,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.03, for a total value of $1,278,255.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,262,750.32. This trade represents a 23.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.12, for a total value of $1,751,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,803 shares in the company, valued at $7,845,901.36. The trade was a 18.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,820 shares of company stock valued at $7,883,482. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More QUALCOMM News

Here are the key news stories impacting QUALCOMM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — EPS $3.50 (vs. consensus ~ $3.38) and revenue $12.25B, showing revenue growth and margin resilience. MarketBeat: QCOM Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term catalysts remain cited by bulls — expansion into Open RAN/AI, autos and data-center adjacencies plus strong cash flow are arguments for buying the dip. Yahoo Finance: Qualcomm Expands Beyond Handsets
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street coverage is mixed: consensus rating sits near “Hold” with a split between buy and hold opinions — that creates uneven analyst guidance flow rather than a clear upgrade path. DefenseWorld: Analysts Give QCOM “Hold”
• Neutral Sentiment: Some firms trimmed price targets/rated changes but retained constructive views (e.g., Rosenblatt remains a buy at a lower PT), signaling disagreement on how long handset headwinds will last. Benzinga: These Analysts Lower Their Forecasts On Qualcomm After Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance came in below Street estimates — EPS guide $2.45–2.65 (vs. ~2.66 consensus) and revenue $10.2–11.0B (vs. ~11.1B consensus) — management flagged a global memory shortage that will constrain smartphone sales. Reuters: Memory Shortage Dents Qualcomm Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate market reaction included after‑hours selloff and several downgrades/target cuts (e.g., Mizuho cut its PT), reflecting risk that handset inventory and memory constraints could persist. Seeking Alpha: Why QCOM Is Dropping

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. waypoint wealth counsel lifted its stake in QUALCOMM by 2.2% in the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 2,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 4.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 10,085 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its position in QUALCOMM by 16.7% during the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 441 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 7.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.82. The company has a market capitalization of $146.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.27.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 43.22%. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.41 earnings per share. QUALCOMM’s revenue 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, equities analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.