D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Trading Down 8.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• QBTS fell 8.6% on Friday, even as trading volume was below average, and the decline appears tied more to a sector-wide quantum computing selloff than to company-specific news.
• D-Wave’s latest earnings were mixed: it beat EPS estimates but missed revenue expectations, with sales down 80.9% year over year, keeping pressure on the stock despite improved bookings.
• Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $34.67, though some analysts have recently trimmed targets and one lowered its rating to sell.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 8.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $20.20 and last traded at $20.2350. Approximately 23,630,714 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 29,631,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.13.

Key D-Wave Quantum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly supportive, with recent coverage including Buy/Overweight-style ratings from firms such as Cantor Fitzgerald, Needham, and Rosenblatt, which helps reinforce the bullish long-term case for QBTS.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted record US$33.4 million bookings in Q1, suggesting demand for D-Wave’s quantum systems and services may be improving even though reported revenue was modest.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is also getting attention from investors focused on quantum computing momentum, helped by its upcoming Qubits Europe 2026 user conference, which could support customer engagement and industry visibility.
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent article noted that billionaire investor Israel Englander’s Millennium Management bought a large QBTS stake in late 2024, underscoring institutional interest, but this is more of a long-term sentiment signal than a near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite those positives, the quantum computing sector sold off in unison on Friday, with QBTS declining alongside peers like IonQ, Rigetti, and Quantum Computing Inc., pointing to sector-wide risk-off trading rather than company-specific news.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also remain focused on QBTS’s mixed Q1 report: revenue missed expectations and sales fell sharply year over year, which keeps pressure on the stock even as bookings improved.
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst group reportedly cut its price target, reinforcing concerns that valuation may still be stretched relative to near-term fundamentals.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QBTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded D-Wave Quantum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut D-Wave Quantum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on D-Wave Quantum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.67.

D-Wave Quantum Trading Down 8.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of -17.91 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.66. The company has a current ratio of 42.38, a quick ratio of 42.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 million. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 49.80% and a negative net margin of 2,957.23%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 80.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. Analysts expect that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.35, for a total transaction of $65,544.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 643,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,742,525.30. This represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John D. Dilullo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.01, for a total value of $144,080.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $356,652.03. This trade represents a 28.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,776 shares of company stock valued at $574,571. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QBTS. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 162,088 shares of the company's stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 60,668 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 200,765 shares of the company's stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 134,066 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 93.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,572 shares of the company's stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 52,437 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 125.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,786 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 24,382 shares during the period. 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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