QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,400,000 shares, a decrease of 25.7% from the August 15th total of 30,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.73. The stock had a trading volume of 4,049,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,208,135. 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 current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $176.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.70. The firm has a market cap of $186.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $9.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.23 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.12% and a net margin of 23.32%. On average, equities research analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 8 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.63.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,407,124.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 229,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,912,913.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of QUALCOMM 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 owns 60,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,407,124.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,496,590. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,539,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,168,000. Creekside Partners bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the 2nd quarter valued at $320,000. NCP Inc. grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 301 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the second quarter worth $129,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.