Trade Desk Downgrade Leads to Stock Plunge
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 11 2026
0mins
Source: CNBC
- Trade Desk Downgrade: The stock of Trade Desk fell nearly 7% after HSBC downgraded its rating from hold to reduce and slashed the price target from $31 to $20, indicating about a 13% downside, marking the company's fourth consecutive negative trading day.
- Corning Stock Surge: Corning's shares jumped 10% after Nvidia announced a $3.2 billion investment and a partnership to open three new manufacturing plants, leading to its inclusion in Bank of America's U.S. 1 List, reflecting strong market confidence in its growth prospects.
- Wendy's Rating Cut: JPMorgan downgraded Wendy's from neutral to underweight with a new price target of $6, implying an 18% downside, primarily due to a continued decline in U.S. same-store sales trends and uncertainty about the company's future, resulting in a 6% drop in stock price.
- Circle Internet Group Mixed Results: Circle's stock rose 15% after reporting earnings per share of 21 cents, beating expectations, although its revenue of $694 million fell short of the $722 million forecast, while successfully raising $222 million from various institutions, indicating market confidence in its stablecoin.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy QCOM?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on QCOM
Wall Street analysts forecast QCOM stock price to fall
16 Analyst Rating
10 Buy
5 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 242.570
Low
165.00
Averages
197.14
High
225.00
Current: 242.570
Low
165.00
Averages
197.14
High
225.00
About QCOM
Qualcomm Incorporated is engaged in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry, including third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G) and fifth generation (5G) wireless connectivity, and high-performance and low-power computing, including on-device artificial intelligence. Its segments include Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives. QCT develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies, including radio frequency front-end, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance and automated driving, Internet of things including consumer electronic devices, industrial devices and edge networking products. QTL grants licenses or otherwise provides rights to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio that includes certain patent rights essential to and/or useful in the manufacture and sale of certain wireless products.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Stock Performance: Qualcomm (QCOM) fell by 2.98% to $242.57 in the latest trading session, lagging behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.41%, indicating market concerns about its short-term outlook.
- Monthly Gains: Despite the recent decline, Qualcomm's stock has surged 29.83% over the past month, significantly outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's 10.03% and the S&P 500's 4.59%, reflecting market confidence in its long-term potential.
- Earnings Expectations: The upcoming earnings report is projected to show earnings of $2.27 per share, an 18.05% year-over-year decline, with revenue expected at $9.7 billion, down 6.46% from the previous year, highlighting challenges the company faces.
- Valuation Analysis: Qualcomm's forward P/E ratio stands at 23.17, considerably lower than the industry average of 51.74, suggesting its stock is undervalued, although the current Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) indicates cautious sentiment regarding its future performance.
See More
- Market Turmoil: The stock market faced a massive sell-off on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping 2.6% and 4.2%, respectively, breaking a nine-week winning streak and indicating investor anxiety over the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies.
- Tech Stock Struggles: Broadcom's stock plummeted 12.6% post-earnings, failing to meet high market expectations, which undermined investor confidence and exacerbated the overall decline in tech stocks.
- IPO Surge: SpaceX plans to issue 555.6 million shares at $135 each, raising approximately $75 billion and achieving a market value of $1.8 trillion, highlighting strong demand for high-tech companies but raising concerns about market oversupply.
- Investor Sentiment Dips: Following Alphabet's announcement of an $85 billion stock sale to fund AI investments, the market reacted negatively, with Meta Platforms also dropping over 6% due to potential dilution fears, reflecting investor apprehension about equity dilution.
See More
- Market Decline: The S&P 500 fell 2.64% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 4.77%, indicating a significant loss of investor confidence in tech stocks, particularly as AI infrastructure and semiconductor companies faced sell-offs, which could impact future investment strategies.
- Strong Employment Data: US nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, significantly exceeding expectations of 88,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, potentially prompting the Fed to consider a rate hike at the upcoming meeting, thereby affecting market liquidity and investor sentiment.
- Rising Bond Yields: The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.55%, a two-week high, reflecting heightened expectations for future rate hikes, which may lead to capital outflows from the stock market, further exacerbating market volatility.
- Tech Stock Retreat: Following Broadcom's disappointing chip sales outlook, Marvell and Micron stocks plummeted over 16% and 13%, respectively, suggesting that the market's overly optimistic sentiment towards tech stocks may be correcting, impacting investor confidence.
See More
- Superchip Launch: On May 31, Nvidia introduced the RTX Spark, merging its Blackwell RTX GPU with the Grace CPU into a single superchip, marking its expansion into the Windows PC market and posing a significant threat to Intel and AMD.
- Increased Market Competition: The launch of the new chip allows Nvidia to enter a market traditionally dominated by Intel and AMD, leveraging its power-efficient ARM architecture, which could attract consumers seeking longer battery life and impact these companies' market shares.
- AI Optimization Potential: The RTX Spark features a 20-core ARM CPU combined with the Blackwell GPU and up to 128GB of high-speed memory, expected to disrupt the high-end Windows PC market for Intel and AMD, particularly in AI task processing.
- Investor Attention: Although market disruption won't happen overnight, investors need to closely monitor Nvidia's subsequent moves to assess its long-term impact on competitors, especially Qualcomm's position in the PC market.
See More
- Product Launch: On May 31, Nvidia introduced the RTX Spark superchip, merging its Blackwell RTX GPU with the Grace CPU, marking its expansion into the high-end Windows PC market and posing a significant threat to Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm.
- Increased Market Competition: The launch of RTX Spark allows Nvidia to enter a market traditionally dominated by Intel and AMD, particularly with its 20-core Arm CPU and up to 128GB of high-speed memory, which could attract PC manufacturers seeking higher energy efficiency.
- Technological Advantage: Nvidia's Arm architecture chips are far more efficient at processing AI tasks compared to their x86 architecture competitors, especially in AI-optimized CPUs, potentially forcing Intel and AMD to accelerate their own AI product launches to remain competitive.
- Industry Impact: With Nvidia's entry into the PC CPU market, Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors face increased pressure, particularly in handling heavy 3D graphics and AI applications, which could impact its market share in the Windows PC segment.
See More
- Market Weakness: The S&P 500 index fell by 1.00% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped by 2.08%, both reaching two-week lows, indicating a significant investor rotation out of AI infrastructure and semiconductor stocks, which could impact future investment strategies.
- Strong Employment Data: US nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, significantly exceeding expectations of 88,000, with April's figures revised up to 179,000, demonstrating economic resilience that may prompt the Fed to consider a rate hike in the upcoming meeting.
- Rising Bond Yields: The 10-year Treasury note yield reached a two-week high of 4.54%, reflecting heightened market expectations for a Fed interest rate increase, which may lead investors to reassess risks in the stock market.
- International Market Declines: European and Asian stock markets are generally lower, with China's Shanghai Composite falling to a seven-week low, indicating that global economic uncertainties could have a ripple effect on the US market.
See More











