QUALCOMM Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:QCOM)

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 88,423 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the typical daily volume of 67,643 put options.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of QCOM traded up $5.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $173.92. The company had a trading volume of 10,892,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,165,518. QUALCOMM has a 1-year low of $104.33 and a 1-year high of $230.63. The stock has a market cap of $194.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The wireless technology company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $9.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.12% and a net margin of 23.32%. Research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 45.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.47, for a total value of $1,595,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 237,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,452,516.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.61, for a total transaction of $616,830.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,407,124.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.47, for a total transaction of $1,595,760.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 237,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,452,516.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,000 shares of company stock worth $3,496,590. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 71.8% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 177 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on QCOM. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered QUALCOMM from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.67.

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.