Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) saw its stock price fall sharply, opening at $20.33 after closing at $23.27, and trading down 11.9% at $19.99.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with a downgrade to "strong sell" from Wall Street Zen, while Lake Street Capital provided a "buy" rating with a target of $24.
• CEO Yuping Huang sold 1,000,000 shares recently for approximately $14.41 each, reducing their ownership stake by 4.49%, reflecting a significant insider transaction.

Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.27, but opened at $20.33. Quantum Computing shares last traded at $19.99, with a volume of 28,032,153 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QUBT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quantum Computing from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of Quantum Computing in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Quantum Computing from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Quantum Computing in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.33.

Quantum Computing Trading Down 11.9%

The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.88 and a beta of 3.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.94.

Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06). The business had revenue of $0.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.10 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quantum Computing news, CEO Yuping Huang sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $306,756,016.38. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Javad Shabani sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.30, for a total value of $306,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $267,352.20. This represents a 53.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,154,649 shares of company stock valued at $16,805,481. 19.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Quantum Computing by 166.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 125,607 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,000 after buying an additional 78,424 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Quantum Computing by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 38,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 10,447 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quantum Computing by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,959 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in Quantum Computing in the second quarter valued at $6,759,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Quantum Computing by 56.3% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 6,250 shares of the company's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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