Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Posted by Geri Gentry on Sep 11th, 2026

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report) were up 1.3% on Wednesday after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $180.86 and last traded at $176.40. 14,748,050 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 15,596,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.09.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qualcomm has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.10.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Qualcomm

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $408,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,376,869.84. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,372,106.40. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 9,033 shares of company stock worth $1,467,844 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

More Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm announced a multi-generational customized-silicon partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing significant validation for its data-center strategy and positioning the company as a potential alternative to Nvidia in certain AI-computing applications. The deal could support Qualcomm’s ambition to generate approximately $5 billion in data-center revenue, but financial details and the timing of meaningful revenue remain limited. Qualcomm’s AWS Deal Takes Aim at Nvidia, But Comes With Fine Print
Positive Sentiment: Investors and analysts view the AWS agreement as a potential growth-cycle reset for Qualcomm, whose shares had previously fallen more than 25% from their June peak. A major hyperscaler design win may lead analysts to raise estimates if Qualcomm demonstrates that the partnership can scale beyond an initial project. Qualcomm’s Data Center Bet Looks More Real After Amazon’s AI Deal
Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating, indicating that at least one research firm remains constructive on Qualcomm’s diversification and valuation.
Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgraded Qualcomm to Hold, a less bearish stance but not a bullish recommendation. The mixed analyst views reflect uncertainty over how quickly the data-center opportunity will offset slower handset demand.
Negative Sentiment: Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro includes Apple’s in-house C2 modem, signaling continued efforts to reduce reliance on Qualcomm. Although the Pro Max reportedly still uses Qualcomm technology in some markets, further modem insourcing represents a long-term risk to Qualcomm’s smartphone revenue and margins. iPhone 18 Pro Debuts C2 Modem
Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm’s latest earnings slightly missed the consensus EPS estimate, while revenue declined year over year. The handset business is shrinking, leaving investors dependent on automotive, IoT and data-center growth to justify the stock’s valuation.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Qualcomm by 116.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,356 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 9,343 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Qualcomm by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 44.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 6.1% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Qualcomm by 9.7% in the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qualcomm Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $193.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.34 and its 200-day moving average is $170.75.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%.The business’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 42.59%.

Qualcomm Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related intellectual property. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company serves customers and partners worldwide across the mobile, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial markets.

Through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) business, Qualcomm designs and supplies integrated circuits, system software and hardware platforms. Its products include Snapdragon mobile platforms, 5G and other wireless modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity solutions, processors and artificial intelligence technologies.