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) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QUBT has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quantum Computing from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Quantum Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Quantum Computing from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital began coverage on shares of Quantum Computing in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.33.

Quantum Computing Stock Up 1.0%

The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.62 and a beta of 3.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.37 and a 200 day moving average of $13.04.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert B. Fagenson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.88, for a total transaction of $84,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Yuping Huang sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.41, for a total value of $14,410,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,287,718 shares in the company, valued at $306,756,016.38. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,154,649 shares of company stock valued at $16,805,481. Insiders own 19.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quantum Computing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QUBT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quantum Computing by 116.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,630,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,928 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quantum Computing in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,543,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quantum Computing by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,191,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,675 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Quantum Computing during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,084,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Quantum Computing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,035,000. 4.26% of the stock is 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.