D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Shares Down 9.6% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• D-Wave Quantum shares fell 9.6% to $17.64 after Vice President Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares for approximately $52,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. She retained roughly 589,000 shares.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $36.47 price target; Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $43 target.
• The company’s commercial prospects are improving through expanded use of its quantum-annealing technology by AT&T, but D-Wave remains loss-making, with quarterly revenue down 80.9% year over year to $2.86 million.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) dropped 9.6% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $17.26 and last traded at $17.64. 23,822,110 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 30,369,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.51.

Specifically, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total transaction of $52,036.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 589,009 shares in the company, valued at $9,983,702.55. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QBTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of D-Wave Quantum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of D-Wave Quantum from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.47.

Key Headlines Impacting D-Wave Quantum

Here are the key news stories impacting D-Wave Quantum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T expanded its use of D-Wave’s quantum-annealing technology across network operations to address complex optimization problems. The companies said a network workload that previously required about an hour was completed in roughly 15 seconds—a reported 240-fold acceleration—providing tangible evidence of commercial applications for D-Wave’s systems. Forbes article
• Positive Sentiment: The expanded AT&T relationship strengthens D-Wave’s commercial credibility and could improve future bookings and revenue visibility ahead of earnings. It also triggered broader interest in quantum-computing stocks. AT&T agreement announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $43 price target, while other coverage highlighted significant potential upside if D-Wave converts high-profile technology deployments into recurring enterprise contracts. Rosenblatt analyst note
• Neutral Sentiment: Quantum stocks retreated in premarket trading after Monday’s sector-wide surge, indicating some profit-taking and continued high volatility rather than a clear deterioration in the AT&T business case. Upcoming quarterly results will test whether bookings and commercial momentum are translating into financial performance. TipRanks article
• Negative Sentiment: D-Wave remains an early-stage, loss-making company. Recent revenue fell 80.9% year over year to $2.86 million, while the company reported deeply negative margins and analysts expect a full-year loss. The stock’s valuation therefore depends heavily on future commercialization rather than current earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Vice President Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale was small relative to her remaining stake and was not necessarily discretionary, but insider selling can add to near-term investor caution. SEC filing

D-Wave Quantum Stock Down 9.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 21.31 and a current ratio of 21.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.61 and a beta of 2.11.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 80.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in D-Wave Quantum by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 133,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,195,000 after buying an additional 25,400 shares in the last quarter. Bay Rivers Group raised its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 62.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 17,357 shares of the company's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 6,657 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 428.6% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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