Qualcomm (QCOM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

Qualcomm (QCOM) closed the most recent trading day at $184.79, moving -2.08% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.79%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.52%.

Coming into today, shares of the chipmaker had lost 17.59% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 4.61%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.82%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Qualcomm in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.21, signifying a 20.22% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $9.7 billion, indicating a 6.46% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $10.77 per share and revenue of $42.77 billion, indicating changes of -10.47% and -3.1%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Qualcomm should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.06% downward. Qualcomm is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, Qualcomm is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.53. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 54.52.

Also, we should mention that QCOM has a PEG ratio of 4.15. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Electronics - Semiconductors industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.11.

The Electronics - Semiconductors industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, which puts it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries.

Story Continues

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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