D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Stock Price Down 4.2% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• D-Wave Quantum shares fell 4.2% on Wednesday, with the stock trading as low as $22.85 after closing at $23.94 the prior day.
• Insider selling pressured sentiment: CFO John M. Markovich sold 200,000 shares for about $5.14 million, and separately sold 46,043 shares earlier in the week; Director Rohit Ghai also sold 13,518 shares. The company said the CFO sales were tied to tax withholding obligations and the director sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish despite the pullback, with recent firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target price of $36.80.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4.2% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $22.85 and last traded at $22.94. Approximately 27,390,772 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 32,336,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.94.

Specifically, CFO John M. Markovich sold 200,000 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total value of $5,142,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,142,820 shares in the company, valued at $29,381,902.20. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO John M. Markovich sold 46,043 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,105,492.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,342,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,241,108.20. The trade was a 3.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In related news, Director Rohit Ghai sold 13,518 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total value of $357,010.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,617 shares in the company, valued at $623,724.97. The trade was a 36.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on QBTS. Mizuho lifted their price objective on D-Wave Quantum from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on D-Wave Quantum from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of D-Wave Quantum from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, D-Wave Quantum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

More D-Wave Quantum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-day momentum and D-Wave’s updated quantum roadmap have kept the long-term growth story intact, with Mizuho reportedly raising its price target after the event. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage commentary continues to highlight D-Wave as a leading pure-play quantum stock, and technical analysis suggests the recent breakout may still have room to run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broad enthusiasm for quantum-computing stocks earlier in the week helped lift QBTS alongside sector-wide risk-on trading. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing QBTS to “the NVIDIA of quantum computing” underscores upside potential, but also highlights that the stock’s valuation leaves little margin for error. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are still debating whether D-Wave can defend its position against faster-growing rivals, keeping the focus on competitive execution rather than near-term fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: QBTS and other quantum names gave back much of the prior session’s gains, suggesting traders were locking in profits after the recent rally. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CFO John M. Markovich and director Rohit Ghai may have added pressure, even though both were disclosed as tax-related or pre-planned transactions. Article Title

D-Wave Quantum Trading Down 4.2%

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.30. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of -20.30 and a beta of 2.05.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 44.06% and a negative net margin of 2,957.23%.The business had revenue of $2.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 80.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 388.0% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 976 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 267.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in D-Wave Quantum in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 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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