D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) Stock Falls 4.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• D-Wave Quantum shares fell 4.1% to $14.60 in mid-day trading, with volume 38% below the average session level. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $18.01 and $19.78, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 13 analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $36.27.
• The company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, including an adjusted loss of $0.10 per share versus the $0.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.08 million versus expectations of $4.03 million. D-Wave also posted deeply negative margins and is projected to lose $0.46 per share for the full year.

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS - Get Free Report) dropped 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $14.30 and last traded at $14.60. 16,643,838 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 26,631,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QBTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $40.00 price objective on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $35.00 price target on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of D-Wave Quantum from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.27.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Down 4.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 20.42, a current ratio of 20.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of -20.56 and a beta of 2.18. The company's fifty day moving average is $18.01 and its 200-day moving average is $19.78.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.02). D-Wave Quantum had a negative net margin of 2,001.59% and a negative return on equity of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $3.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. D-Wave Quantum's quarterly revenue was down 0.6 on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other D-Wave Quantum news, VP Sophie Ames sold 3,070 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $52,036.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 589,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,983,702.55. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 319.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 75,198 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 4,281,254 shares of the company's stock worth $111,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,106 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 295.0% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 54,760 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 40,897 shares during the last quarter. Burr Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,343,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 183,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 72,100 shares during the period. 42.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About D-Wave Quantum

D-Wave Quantum Inc is a quantum-computing company that develops and delivers quantum systems, software and cloud-based services for commercial, government and research customers. The company focuses on quantum annealing, an approach designed to address complex optimization problems, and is also developing gate-model quantum-computing capabilities.

Its offerings include D-Wave quantum computers, the Leap quantum cloud service, and the Ocean software development kit. Through these products, customers can access quantum hardware, build and test applications, and combine quantum processing with classical computing through hybrid solvers.

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