QCOM reported an upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter report
Semiconductor name Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is leaping higher today, last seen up 12.6% to trade at $155.98. Today's pop came after the company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue win. The company attributed the strong results to high demand for chips, with chip sales up 56% year-over-year. In addition, Qualcomm issued an upbeat current-quarter forecast, which may hint at the easing of the global chip shortage.
The brokerage bunch is reacting positively to the news. The security received no fewer than six price-target hikes this morning, with the highest from J.P. Morgan Securities and Rosenblatt Securities to $200 from $180 and $185, respectively. This is made even more impressive by the fact analysts were already optimistic towards QCOM, with 11 of the 18 in coverage carrying a "buy" or better rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $187.27 coming into today is a 19.6% premium to current levels.
Qualcomm stock is now gapping to its highest level since February. After bouncing off the $122 mark in mid-October, the stock quickly found support at its 10-day moving average. Year-over-year, QCOM is up 21.4%.
The options pits are bursting with activity today. So far, 125,000 calls and 28,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is a whopping 18 times the intraday average. Most popular is the weekly 11/5 160-strike call, followed by the weekly 11/12 160-strike call, with new positions being opened at both.