Short Interest in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Decreases By 21.3%

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,900,000 shares, a drop of 21.3% from the January 15th total of 24,010,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM opened at $172.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.50. QUALCOMM has a 52-week low of $148.90 and a 52-week high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 9.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total value of $1,665,800.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. This trade represents a 23.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares in the company, valued at $14,570. The trade was a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,268 shares of company stock worth $7,785,781 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 525.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,413,495 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $217,141,000 after buying an additional 1,187,531 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,509,066 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $692,747,000 after purchasing an additional 138,257 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,154,237 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $177,314,000 after purchasing an additional 42,481 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in QUALCOMM by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,010,518 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $616,096,000 after buying an additional 97,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in QUALCOMM by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,417 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.