D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Shares Up 9.3% – Here’s What Happened

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)’s share price shot up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.90 and last traded at $21.83. Approximately 23,499,396 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 30,071,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.98.

Key Stories Impacting D-Wave Quantum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq Verafin partnership: Nasdaq’s financial-crime technology business will work with D-Wave to explore whether quantum computing can improve the speed and effectiveness of detecting financial crime. The initiative gives D-Wave a potential enterprise use case in financial services. D-Wave and Nasdaq Verafin Announce Agreement for Quantum Computing Application Development
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage: Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $40 price target, implying substantial upside from the stock’s recent trading level. The endorsement may have strengthened investor enthusiasm for QBTS and the quantum-computing theme.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: Quantum stocks rallied broadly, with D-Wave reportedly gaining as much as 11% during the session alongside advances in IonQ and Rigetti. Broader strength in technology stocks also supported risk appetite. D-Wave Spikes 11% on Nasdaq Verafin Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Early-stage commercial opportunity: The Verafin agreement is intended to evaluate and develop applications, so investors will likely look for evidence of technical progress, production deployment, or commercial contracts before it materially changes D-Wave’s financial outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals remain risks: Commentary noted that quantum-computing companies carry lofty valuations despite continuing losses. D-Wave’s latest reported revenue was below expectations and declined sharply year over year, underscoring the gap between strong investor expectations and current operating results.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on QBTS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of D-Wave Quantum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, D-Wave Quantum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.80.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of -19.32 and a beta of 2.11. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.37 and its 200-day moving average is $20.76.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was down 80.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at D-Wave Quantum

In other news, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 23,025 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.98, for a total transaction of $437,014.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 596,803 shares in the company, valued at $11,327,320.94. The trade was a 3.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rohit Ghai sold 13,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $357,010.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,724.97. The trade was a 36.40% 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 1,363,842 shares of company stock valued at $35,789,148 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in D-Wave Quantum by 541.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,089,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,737,000 after acquiring an additional 10,205,427 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in D-Wave Quantum by 136,842.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,194,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,192,533 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in D-Wave Quantum by 311.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,548,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685,980 shares during the period. Marex Group plc lifted its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 74.9% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,592,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,648,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941,762 shares during the last quarter. 42.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About D-Wave Quantum

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.