Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $258.00 and last traded at $257.33, with a volume of 9353239 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $238.16.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm reportedly reached a deal to supply AI chips to ByteDance for data centers, a potential new growth driver for the company. Qualcomm strikes AI chip deal with TikTok owner ByteDance, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm shares are also benefiting from a broader rally in AI-related stocks and upbeat market momentum in tech. Why Qualcomm, AMD, Intel, other AI stocks are surging sharply on Tuesday
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s expanded Stellantis partnership could help expand adoption of Snapdragon Digital Chassis in connected vehicles. Can Qualcomm’s Expanded Stellantis Tie-Up Boost Its Shares?
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm was highlighted as a trending stock, reflecting elevated investor attention rather than a specific fundamental update. QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on QCOM shares. Evercore set a $179.00 price target on Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Qualcomm from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Qualcomm from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Summit Insights raised Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Qualcomm from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Up 4.3%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is 38.70%.

Qualcomm declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total value of $325,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,999,352.56. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the first quarter worth $65,000. WNY Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 1st quarter valued at $279,000. Wellington Grp LLC lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 100.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 417 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 259.6% during the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 597 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 34,456 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,437,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.