D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) Stock Price Down 2.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• D-Wave shares fell 2.6% to $13.38 amid broader quantum-sector concerns, including valuation and dilution risks following IonQ’s proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Elisity.
• D-Wave extended its multi-year manufacturing and semiconductor-development agreement with SkyWater, strengthening production capabilities, though financial terms and expected revenue were not disclosed.
• Analysts remain generally optimistic, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $36.27; however, the company continues to report losses, missed recent revenue and EPS estimates, and faces an announced securities-law investigation.

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS - Get Free Report) dropped 2.6% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $13.28 and last traded at $13.38. 11,616,500 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 26,410,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.74.

D-Wave Quantum News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: D-Wave signed a new multi-year agreement with SkyWater to continue specialized semiconductor process development and manufacturing for future generations of its superconducting quantum-computing technology. The agreement strengthens D-Wave’s supply-chain and production capabilities, but the companies did not disclose financial terms or expected revenue. SkyWater and D-Wave Extend Quantum Manufacturing Collaboration Through Multi-Year Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: The manufacturing announcement has placed D-Wave among quantum-computing companies attracting investor interest as partnerships, product initiatives and other October deals support the sector’s longer-term commercialization narrative. 3 Quantum Computing Stocks in the Limelight After October Deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing D-Wave with other emerging technology companies highlights that it already generates revenue from hybrid quantum systems and cloud services. However, the reports provide limited new information about bookings, profitability or the pace of revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: A reported $350 million U.S. Department of Defense quantum initiative could expand government demand for the industry, but current coverage suggests IonQ and a DARPA benchmarking program may be better positioned to capture the near-term benefit. The revenue impact for D-Wave remains uncertain. The Pentagon’s $350 Million Quantum Push
• Negative Sentiment: D-Wave shares declined alongside other quantum stocks after IonQ’s proposed $1.3 billion all-stock acquisition of cybersecurity company Elisity triggered concerns about valuation, strategic focus and dilution across the sector. IonQ Sinks 9% on All-Stock Elisity Deal
• Negative Sentiment: A securities law firm announced an investigation into potential federal securities-law violations involving D-Wave. The announcement is only an allegation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds headline and litigation risk for investors. QBTS Investigation Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on QBTS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $40.00 price objective on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $35.00 target price on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, D-Wave Quantum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.27.

D-Wave Quantum Price Performance

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 50 day simple moving average of $17.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.85 and a beta of 2.18.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 million. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 26.67% and a negative net margin of 2,001.59%. D-Wave Quantum's revenue was down 0.6 compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other D-Wave Quantum news, VP Sophie Ames sold 3,070 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total transaction of $52,036.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 589,009 shares in the company, valued at $9,983,702.55. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in D-Wave Quantum in the second quarter valued at approximately $795,206,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,183,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 52.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,339,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,132,000 after buying an additional 806,835 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in D-Wave Quantum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,951,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 372.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,820,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.47% of the company's stock.

D-Wave Quantum Company Profile

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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