D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Trading Down 14.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of D-Wave Quantum were down 14.5% intraday to about $17.20, trading roughly 35.8M shares and sitting well below the 50‑day ($26.33) and 200‑day ($24.78) moving averages.
• Analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy (13 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average price target of $38.21, while individual targets range from the mid‑$30s up to $48 and one firm (Weiss) maintains a sell rating.
• Operationally, revenue jumped 105.6% to $3.74M and the company beat EPS estimates, but D‑Wave remains unprofitable (negative margins/ROE); at the same time insiders have sold ~2.35M shares recently even as large institutions like Vanguard and UBS have materially increased positions.

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) were down 14.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.92 and last traded at $17.2020. Approximately 35,770,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 37,924,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QBTS has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm set a $40.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $35.00 price target on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.21.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.33 and its 200-day moving average is $24.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.74 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 54.68, a quick ratio of 54.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 97.58% and a negative net margin of 1,651.81%.The firm had revenue of $3.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 million. D-Wave Quantum's revenue was up 105.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at D-Wave Quantum

In other D-Wave Quantum news, CFO John M. Markovich sold 200,000 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.94, for a total value of $4,588,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,482,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,017,129.56. The trade was a 11.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 806,288 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.87, for a total value of $23,277,534.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,801,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,872,520.55. This trade represents a 22.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,346,916 shares of company stock worth $65,591,314. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in D-Wave Quantum by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,454,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,220,000 after buying an additional 11,218,255 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 541.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,089,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,737,000 after buying an additional 10,205,427 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the second quarter valued at about $80,070,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 136,842.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,194,866 shares of the company's stock worth $83,546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,192,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in D-Wave Quantum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.47% of the company's stock.

D-Wave Quantum Company Profile

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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