On Monday, shares of chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. QCOM are tumbling, down around 14% in morning trading after the company was hit by multiple downgrades, as well as Apple Inc.'s AAPL recent lawsuit.
Nomura analyst Romit Shah downgraded Qualcomm from Buy to Neutral, expressing concern regarding its deal to acquire NXP Semiconductors NV NXPI . Mr. Shah also lowered the price target from $80 to $70 per share.
"Investigations into Qualcomm's licensing practices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia were known risks at the time of the NXPI acquisition announcement…However, recent rulings and lawsuits are stronger and broader than anticipated," Shah wrote in a note to clients.
Institutional brokerage and investment group also downgraded Qualcomm to Underperform.
Meanwhile, iPhone maker Apple filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the chipmaker last Friday, just days after the U.S. government accused the company of utilizing anticompetitive tactics to monopolize semiconductors in the mobile phone industry. In the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Apple alleged Qualcomm of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay up to $1 billion in promised rebates.
Qualcomm is expected to release its first quarter fiscal 2017 earnings report on January 25. Zacks expects the company to report earnings of $1.06 per share and revenues of $6.106 billion.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
