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Qualcomm (QCOM) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Qualcomm (QCOM - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $79.95, moving +1.1% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.42%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.03%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the chipmaker had gained 38.35% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4.43% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.89% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from QCOM as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be May 1, 2019. In that report, analysts expect QCOM to post earnings of $0.70 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 12.5%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.79 billion, down 8.86% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.85 per share and revenue of $20.35 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.34% and -10.46%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for QCOM. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.93% lower within the past month. QCOM currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that QCOM has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.53 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 24.83, so we one might conclude that QCOM is trading at a discount comparatively.

It is also worth noting that QCOM currently has a PEG ratio of 2.09. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Wireless Equipment was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.35 at yesterday's closing price.

The Wireless Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 23, which puts it in the top 10% of all 250+ industries.

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.

To follow QCOM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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