QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares were up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $163.45 and last traded at $162.49. Approximately 1,724,197 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 5,451,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Melius Research assumed coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.11.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,879,598.12. This trade represents a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 94 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 1,778.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,219,303 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $641,221,000 after buying an additional 3,047,947 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,191,342 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $542,688,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014,302 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 17,357.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,310 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $499,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,490 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,600,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in QUALCOMM by 30.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,506,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,250,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,432 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About QUALCOMM

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products.