Short Interest in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Decreases By 21.3%

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,900,000 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the January 15th total of 24,010,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 8,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on QCOM shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,879,598.12. This trade represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $202,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,570. This trade represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,268 shares of company stock valued at $7,785,781 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 137.3% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

NASDAQ QCOM opened at $172.15 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.50. QUALCOMM has a 52-week low of $148.90 and a 52-week high of $230.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market cap of $190.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM will post 9.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

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.