QUALCOMM Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:QCOM)

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 81,789 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 28% compared to the average volume of 63,679 call options.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of QUALCOMM stock opened at $227.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $253.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.73 and a 200 day moving average of $166.00. QUALCOMM has a 52 week low of $104.33 and a 52 week high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The wireless technology company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $9.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 37.09% and a net margin of 23.03%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is 45.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on QCOM shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares in the company, valued at $12,030,317.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sylvia Acevedo sold 744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.52, for a total value of $135,050.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,802.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,185 shares of company stock worth $8,206,875 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank OH bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Bank Hapoalim BM increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 9,192 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 11,285 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 45,570 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $6,591,000 after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.