QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $175.86, but opened at $167.84. QUALCOMM shares last traded at $167.75, with a volume of 2,719,301 shares traded.

The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $14,570. This trade represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,981 shares of company stock valued at $4,000,870. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $284,708,000 after buying an additional 523,244 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $2,058,000. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 665.6% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $22,568,000 after acquiring an additional 127,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 17.1% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 354,389 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $60,264,000 after purchasing an additional 51,879 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.04.

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.