D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) Shares Down 1.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) dropped 1.1% on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $18.92 and last traded at $19.32. 13,027,515 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 28,960,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.53.

QBTS has been the topic of several other reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Benchmark initiated coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $35.00 price target on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Thirteen 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.27.

Insider Activity at D-Wave Quantum

In other D-Wave Quantum news, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $17,967,693.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,299,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,223,016.23. This represents a 17.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $52,036.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 589,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,983,702.55. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,012,065 shares of company stock worth $26,245,703 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key D-Wave Quantum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $35 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The firm highlighted D-Wave’s commercial-revenue opportunity, providing the clearest immediate catalyst for the stock. BMO coverage article
• Positive Sentiment: NTT DOCOMO deployed a second production quantum application powered by D-Wave to improve mobile-network planning and efficiency. The deployment expands the relationship beyond pilot projects and supports the case that D-Wave’s technology is gaining real-world enterprise adoption. NTT DOCOMO deployment article
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators were strong: first-half bookings reportedly surged 1,120% year over year to $35.5 million, remaining performance obligations rose 668% to $40.7 million, and nearly $23 million of contracted revenue could be recognized within 12 months. Commercial customers generated 67.7% of first-half revenue, with six applications in production. D-Wave demand article
• Neutral Sentiment: Quantum-computing stocks broadly rebounded, lifting sentiment across the group, although the move was not solely company-specific. Quantum stocks article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to flag D-Wave’s expensive valuation after its roughly 15-fold three-year gain. Investors are increasingly focused on whether bookings and deployments can translate into sustained revenue and eventual profitability. D-Wave valuation article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded the stock from Strong Buy to Hold, while a prior broad quantum-stock selloff demonstrated the sector’s high volatility. Zacks downgrade article

Institutional Trading of D-Wave Quantum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 388.0% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 545.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in D-Wave Quantum in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, PeakShares LLC purchased a new stake in D-Wave Quantum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 42.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

D-Wave Quantum Trading Up 8.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -28.76 and a beta of 2.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 20.42 and a current ratio of 20.55.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.02). D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 26.67% and a negative net margin of 2,001.59%.The company had revenue of $3.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 0.6 on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

D-Wave Quantum Company Profile

D-Wave Quantum Inc (NYSE: QBTS) develops and provides quantum computing systems, software and services focused on quantum annealing technology. Headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, D-Wave designs specialized processors that leverage quantum mechanics to solve complex optimization and sampling problems. Since its founding in 1999 by physicists including Geordie Rose, the company has pursued the development of commercially viable quantum hardware and accompanying software tools.

The company’s product portfolio centers on its quantum annealers, which are complemented by hybrid solvers that integrate classical and quantum computing resources.