D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Earns "Buy" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company reaffirmed its Buy rating on D-Wave Quantum and kept a $40 price target, implying about 37% upside from the stock’s current level.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 14 Buy ratings versus just two Holds and one Sell; the consensus target price across analysts is $34.67.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected EPS of -$0.05, though revenue came in below estimates at $2.86 million and fell sharply year over year.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $40.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 37.13% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered D-Wave Quantum from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on D-Wave Quantum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.67.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE QBTS opened at $29.17 on Tuesday. D-Wave Quantum has a 12 month low of $12.75 and a 12 month high of $46.75. The company has a current ratio of 21.41, a quick ratio of 21.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.81 and a beta of 2.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.81 and a 200-day moving average of $22.11.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 million. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 44.06% and a negative net margin of 2,957.23%.The company's revenue was down 80.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that D-Wave Quantum will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John M. Markovich sold 328,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $9,106,430.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,442,820 shares in the company, valued at $39,966,114. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John D. Dilullo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.01, for a total value of $144,080.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $356,652.03. This represents a 28.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 383,553 shares of company stock valued at $10,118,016. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in D-Wave Quantum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,886,036 shares of the company's stock worth $56,075,000 after buying an additional 368,486 shares during the period. Encore Global Management LP purchased a new stake in D-Wave Quantum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 171,955 shares of the company's stock worth $2,481,000 after buying an additional 42,159 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 407,235 shares of the company's stock worth $5,876,000 after buying an additional 86,267 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.47% of the company's stock.

About D-Wave Quantum

D-Wave Quantum Inc NYSE: QBTS develops and provides quantum computing systems, software and services focused on quantum annealing technology. Headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, D-Wave designs specialized processors that leverage quantum mechanics to solve complex optimization and sampling problems. Since its founding in 1999 by physicists including Geordie Rose, the company has pursued the development of commercially viable quantum hardware and accompanying software tools.

The company's product portfolio centers on its quantum annealers, which are complemented by hybrid solvers that integrate classical and quantum computing resources.

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