D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Trading Up 10.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• D-Wave Quantum shares rose 10.5% to $19.98 after the company announced an agreement with Nasdaq Verafin to explore quantum-computing applications for financial-crime detection. The deal is still at the evaluation stage, not a confirmed commercial rollout.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Wedbush initiated coverage with an “Outperform” rating and a $40 target, while the stock’s average analyst target is $36.80 and its consensus rating is “Moderate Buy.”
• Significant risks remain: D-Wave reported revenue of $2.86 million, down 80.9% year over year and below estimates, while continuing to operate at a substantial loss. Recent insider selling and the company’s high-growth valuation add to investor sensitivity if pilot projects fail to produce revenue.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) shares were up 10.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.14 and last traded at $19.98. 24,485,735 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 30,116,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.08.

Key Stories Impacting D-Wave Quantum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq Verafin partnership: D-Wave and Nasdaq Verafin agreed to explore and develop quantum-computing applications aimed at improving financial-crime detection. The announcement provides a prominent potential enterprise use case for D-Wave’s technology and strengthens its relationship with a major financial-technology provider. The agreement is currently an evaluation rather than a confirmed commercial rollout. D-Wave and Nasdaq Verafin Announce Agreement for Quantum Computing Application Development
• Positive Sentiment: New bullish analyst coverage: Wedbush initiated coverage of QBTS with an “Outperform” rating and a $40 price target, implying substantial upside from the stock’s recent level. The initiation adds institutional visibility and reinforces the bullish investment case for D-Wave’s commercial quantum-annealing business. Benzinga analyst coverage report
• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: Quantum-computing shares broadly advanced after D-Wave’s Verafin announcement and IonQ’s separate SkyWater transaction. The sector-wide move is supporting QBTS, although some of the gains may reflect momentum trading rather than a change in near-term fundamentals. D-Wave Spikes 11% on Nasdaq Verafin Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent investment commentary contrasts D-Wave’s quantum-annealing platform and growing enterprise customer base with IonQ’s trapped-ion technology. Analysts see long-term potential in the industry, but the comparisons highlight that quantum computing remains an emerging and highly competitive market. IonQ vs. D-Wave Quantum
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and valuation risks remain: D-Wave continues to operate at a loss, while its latest reported revenue was well below expectations and declined sharply year over year. With a high-growth valuation and no consistent profitability, the stock remains sensitive to delays in converting pilot projects such as the Verafin initiative into meaningful revenue.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on QBTS shares. Northland Securities initiated coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wedbush began coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised D-Wave Quantum from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.68 and a beta of 2.11. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $22.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.83.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. D-Wave Quantum had a negative net margin of 2,957.23% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 80.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 23,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.98, for a total transaction of $437,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 596,803 shares in the company, valued at $11,327,320.94. This trade represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $17,967,693.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,299,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $86,223,016.23. This trade represents a 17.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,363,842 shares of company stock worth $35,789,148 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QBTS. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 541.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,089,703 shares of the company's stock worth $298,737,000 after buying an additional 10,205,427 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,394,726 shares of the company's stock worth $220,085,000 after acquiring an additional 866,405 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,707,085 shares of the company's stock worth $201,540,000 after acquiring an additional 385,809 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc increased its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,592,656 shares of the company's stock worth $120,098,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966,500 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Street Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 4,281,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,106 shares in the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.