Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 6.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded down 6.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $190.10 and last traded at $191.20. 18,093,033 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 16,246,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.42.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jensen Huang’s public endorsement of Qualcomm has helped sentiment, with NVIDIA’s CEO encouraging investors to buy the stock and highlighting Qualcomm’s strength in mobile hardware. Qualcomm shares rise 2% after Nvidia CEO endorses the stock
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm continues to expand beyond smartphones with new AI initiatives, including an AI-powered enterprise conference platform and collaborations on edge AI solutions for energy operations, supporting the long-term growth narrative. Qualcomm’s Edge AI Push Into Enterprise Meeting Rooms Faces Valuation Hurdles
• Positive Sentiment: Recent semiconductor rebounds and upcoming investor-day catalysts are keeping attention on Qualcomm’s AI/data-center roadmap, which could support shares if management delivers more detail later this month. Qualcomm jumps as chip stocks rebound and investors refocus on upcoming AI/data-center catalysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains mixed, with Qualcomm currently carrying an average “Hold” rating, suggesting Wall Street is not seeing a strong near-term catalyst from analyst coverage alone.
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm’s recent partnership headlines with SDG&E and Scripps on AI wildfire monitoring are strategically positive, but they are not likely to move the stock materially in the short term. SDG&E, Qualcomm, Scripps team up to curb wildfires with AI
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s weakness is being amplified by a broader semiconductor correction and profit-taking after a sharp rally in AI-related chip stocks, which is weighing on Qualcomm despite its recent momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Several market reports say Qualcomm is underperforming peers as chip investors de-risk and shorts increase across the semiconductor group, adding pressure to the stock. Semiconductor shorts pile on as winning trade reverses

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $220.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Stock Down 6.9%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.02. The company has a market cap of $201.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 1.59. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Qualcomm declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In related news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 4.82% 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 39,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,065,677.70. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,333 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 0.6% in 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 during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,401 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.