QUALCOMM Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:QCOM)

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 88,423 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the average daily volume of 67,643 put options.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

QCOM opened at $168.92 on Friday. QUALCOMM has a 52-week low of $104.33 and a 52-week high of $230.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The wireless technology company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.21. The company 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%. As a group, analysts predict that QUALCOMM will post 8 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on QCOM shares. TD Cowen upgraded QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.61, for a total value of $616,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,407,124.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other QUALCOMM news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.50, for a total value of $1,284,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 229,987 shares in the company, valued at $36,912,913.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 60,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,407,124.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock worth $3,496,590 in the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. City Holding Co. boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 3.5% in the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 5,884 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 173.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 842,357 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $167,781,000 after acquiring an additional 534,176 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the first quarter valued at about $3,104,000. SWP Financial LLC purchased a new position in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $593,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 94.3% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 988,683 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $196,807,000 after buying an additional 479,722 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.