Mizuho Cuts Qualcomm Target to $160 as Tepper and Commerzbank Boost Stakes
Mizuho Securities cut Qualcomm’s price target from $175 to $160 on January 25, while Commerzbank raised its stake by 1.7% to 472,843 shares worth $78.7 million. David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management reinvested proceeds from Oracle, Micron and Intel sales into Qualcomm, showing contrarian confidence in its P/E 13 undervaluation.
1. Analyst Lowers Price Target on QCOM
On January 25, 2026, Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh revised his twelve-month price target for Qualcomm Incorporated from one hundred seventy-five dollars to one hundred sixty dollars, signaling a more cautious near-term outlook. This adjustment follows TheFly’s report and contrasts with Qualcomm’s recent earnings beat, as the company delivered third-quarter revenue growth of 10% year-over-year to eleven point twenty-seven billion dollars and earnings per share of three dollars, surpassing consensus estimates by thirteen cents. The new target implies limited upside from current levels, reflecting concerns over moderating smartphone demand and potential pricing pressure in Qualcomm’s licensing business.
2. Institutional Investors Boost Confidence
Despite the tempered analyst view, major institutions have increased their stakes in Qualcomm. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holding by 1.7%, now owning 472,843 shares valued at seventy-eight point seven million dollars and representing 1.6% of its total portfolio, making Qualcomm its twentieth largest position. First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. expanded its third-quarter position by 3.9%, while other funds such as Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. and Chung Wu Investment Group initiated new positions. Collectively, institutional ownership stands at approximately 74.4%, underscoring broad confidence in Qualcomm’s long-term semiconductor and licensing franchises.
3. David Tepper’s Contrarian Bet on Qualcomm
In the latest 13F filing, billionaire investor David Tepper’s hedge fund Appaloosa Management deployed profits from sales of legacy AI winners—including Oracle, Intel, and Micron—to increase its Qualcomm position. Tepper views the wireless technology leader as undervalued, trading at a forward P/E near thirteen despite its pivotal role in on-device AI and emerging data-center inference. Qualcomm’s new AI200 and AI250 chips, slated for release in 2026 and 2027, along with a 36% expansion in automotive segment revenue last year, reinforce the thesis that the company is well-positioned to capture growth from smartphone proliferation, connected vehicles, and edge computing.