QCOM- Bullish or Bearish? Next Week Trade?Qualcomm's- 0% decline since the beginning of the year was disappointing, especially when compared to the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index's gain of more than 20% during the same period. Many investors have since turned bearish on the stock, due to the seemingly endless barrage of bad news and weak growth forecasts for the year. There are certainly reasons to sell Qualcomm after its lackluster performance, but I believe that investors shouldn't do so based on the following three bear cases.
1) The headwinds facing its mobile business
However, the bears often ignore two key facts. First, Qualcomm's top-tier Snapdragon SoCs are still considered the industry standard for mobile chipsets. That's why flagship devices like Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Sony's Xperia XZ Premium both use its high-end Snapdragon 835 processor. Second, Qualcomm is expanding its Snapdragon lineup to adjacent markets -- including drones, connected cars, action cameras, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets, and data centers. These variant Snapdragon chipsets should gradually diversify Qualcomm's chipmaking business away from smartphones over the next few years.
2) Its ugly battles with regulators and other tech companies
3) FEAR of the NXPI deal not closing- TODAY: 6/9/2017, look for news. Europe should approve deal today.
Qualcomm still faces plenty of near-term headwinds, but stock's low valuation and high dividend should limit its downside potential. The stock trades at 20 times earnings, which is lower than the industry average of 26 for semiconductor companies. Its 3.7% dividend yield is much higher than S&P 500's average yield of 2%. As an investor, Qualcomm has tested my patience many times before. But to sell the stock on negative news without regard for the NXP deal, its low valuation, and its dividend would be foolish. So for now, the best move for Qualcomm investors is to simply sit tight and wait for the NXP deal to close.
From: The Motley Fool/Leo Sun/June 7, 2017
