Semiconductor name Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) will announce fiscal third-quarter earnings results after the close tomorrow, July 30. Ahead of the event, Wall Street analysts anticipate earnings of $2.71, a 16.3% year-over-year rise, on revenue of $10.34 billion, a 10.1% rise.
Recently, QCOM's post-earnings history has been dismal. The stock finished all four of its next-day sessions lower over the past year, including an 8.9% drop in May. For this coming Thursday, the options pits are pricing in a 9% swing, regardless of direction, higher than the 6.3% move the stock has averaged over the last two years.
On the charts, Qualcomm stock has been running into pressure at the $162 level since early June. Support at the $153 level lingers below, however, as well as the 50-day moving average. Year-to-date, the equity is up 5.7%.
Notably, calls have been much more popular than usual over the past 10 weeks. QCOM's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.26 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 90% of readings from the past year.
