Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) Shares Down 2.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) shares fell 2.2%, trading around $18.33 after closing at $18.74, with a significant increase in trading volume of 50% compared to the average.
• Analyst ratings on QUBT are mixed, with Weiss Ratings reiterating a "sell" while Ascendiant Capital Markets increased their price target to $40.00, suggesting a potential bullish outlook.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Yuping Huang selling 1,000,000 shares, decreasing their ownership to 21,287,718 shares, while institutional interest is growing with multiple funds increasing their stakes in the company.

Shares of Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT - Get Free Report) traded down 2.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.78 and last traded at $18.33. 40,408,986 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 50% from the average session volume of 26,981,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on QUBT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Quantum Computing in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Quantum Computing from $22.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Lake Street Capital started coverage on Quantum Computing in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Quantum Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Quantum Computing from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quantum Computing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.33.

Quantum Computing Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.63. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of -26.96 and a beta of 3.85.

Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.06). The company had revenue of $0.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.10 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Yuping Huang sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.41, for a total transaction of $14,410,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,287,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $306,756,016.38. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Javad Shabani sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.30, for a total value of $306,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,474 shares in the company, valued at $267,352.20. This represents a 53.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,154,649 shares of company stock worth $16,805,481. Insiders own 19.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quantum Computing

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quantum Computing in the third quarter valued at $200,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quantum Computing by 724.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Quantum Computing in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in Quantum Computing by 339.9% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,117,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,572,000 after purchasing an additional 863,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Quantum Computing by 565.4% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 17,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 15,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.26% of the company's stock.

Quantum Computing Company Profile

Quantum Computing Inc, an integrated photonics company, offers accessible and affordable quantum machines. The company offers Dirac systems are portable, low power, and room temperature qubit and qudit entropy quantum computers (EQC); reservoir computing; remote sensing; and single photon imaging. It also provides Quantum random number generator (uQRNG), a portable device that provides genuine random numbers directly from quantum processes; and quantum authentication which eliminates vulnerabilities inherent in classical cryptographic schemes by offering a comprehensive entanglement-based quantum cyber solution that seamlessly integrates into existing telecom fiber and communication infrastructure.

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