QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Down 8.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) were down 8.5% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $195.00 to $185.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. QUALCOMM traded as low as $132.73 and last traded at $136.30. Approximately 30,172,552 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 182% from the average daily volume of 10,708,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.89.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on QCOM. Susquehanna lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday. Bank of America downgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on QUALCOMM from $165.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann C. Chaplin sold 7,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.03, for a total transaction of $1,278,255.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,944 shares in the company, valued at $4,262,750.32. This trade represents a 23.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $34,510.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,684 shares of company stock valued at $7,004,088. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting QUALCOMM

Here are the key news stories impacting QUALCOMM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: QCOM beat on the quarter — adjusted EPS of $3.50 and strong revenue (record automotive/handset contribution) showed the company can still print solid results despite industry headwinds. Zacks: Qualcomm Surpasses Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Some firms remain constructive — a few analysts still have buy/overweight views and multi-quarter bull cases that point to upside if handset memory constraints ease. Benzinga: Analyst Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Management frames the problem as a memory supply constraint rather than weak end-demand — CEO Cristiano Amon said handset demand isn’t the core issue, which matters for how durable the slowdown may be. Bloomberg Tech Interview (YouTube)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights that QCOM’s selloff has pushed the stock back to 2020 price levels — that raises long-term questions but also creates short-term relief-rally potential for traders. MarketBeat: Qualcomm Is Back at 2020 Levels
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance came in below consensus — EPS and revenue ranges were trimmed because memory shortages are expected to constrain smartphone build plans, directly pressuring Qualcomm’s handset-related revenue. That guidance drove the bulk of the selloff. Reuters: Memory Shortage Hits Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have reacted with price-target cuts and tone shifts (Evercore, Mizuho, Bank of America and others), and several firms moved to neutral/in-line ratings — increasing near-term selling pressure. Benzinga: Analysts Lower Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction has been severe — heavy volume and a double-digit intraday move reflect headline-driven risk: strong quarter but weak forward outlook. Short-term volatility is likely to continue until memory supply visibility improves. CNBC: Qualcomm Stock Sinks on Memory Warning

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,713,603,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 141.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,437,240 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,069,059,000 after acquiring an additional 7,292,783 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 38.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 11,533,094 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,866,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186,524 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 36.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,552,427 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,090,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 120.1% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,152,866 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $502,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,529 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 8.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.75 and a 200 day moving average of $165.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $145.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.22.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 43.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.41 earnings per share. QUALCOMM has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 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.