D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.21, but opened at $17.86. D-Wave Quantum shares last traded at $19.25, with a volume of 11,910,002 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on D-Wave Quantum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Northland Securities initiated coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.47.

D-Wave Quantum Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 21.31 and a current ratio of 21.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.00 and a 200 day moving average of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.64 and a beta of 2.11.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 million. D-Wave Quantum had a negative net margin of 2,957.23% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 80.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $17,967,693.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,299,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,223,016.23. This trade represents a 17.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Dilullo sold 7,850 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.43, for a total value of $191,775.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,603.30. The trade was a 26.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,360,772 shares of company stock valued at $35,737,111 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 23.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 133,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,400 shares during the last quarter. Bay Rivers Group increased its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 62.2% in the second quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 17,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 6,657 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in D-Wave Quantum in the second quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new stake in D-Wave Quantum during the 2nd quarter worth $214,000. Institutional investors own 42.47% of the company’s stock.

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.