Quantum Computing Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:QUBT)

Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 53,070 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the typical volume of 37,205 call options.

Quantum Computing Price Performance

NASDAQ:QUBT traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.88. 20,527,166 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,087,467. Quantum Computing has a 12-month low of $6.18 and a 12-month high of $25.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.36 and a beta of 3.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.87.

Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Quantum Computing will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quantum Computing

In related news, CFO Christopher Bruce Roberts sold 68,902 shares of Quantum Computing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $540,880.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,132,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,889,324.30. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 19.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi purchased a new position in Quantum Computing during the 1st quarter valued at about $503,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Quantum Computing by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 252,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 61,790 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Quantum Computing by 122.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 197,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 108,558 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Quantum Computing in the first quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Quantum Computing by 393.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 667,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,574,000 after buying an additional 532,451 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on QUBT shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Quantum Computing in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Quantum Computing from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Quantum Computing in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Quantum Computing from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Northland Securities started coverage on Quantum Computing in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quantum Computing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Quantum Computing Company Profile

Quantum Computing Inc (NASDAQ: QUBT) is a provider of quantum computing and quantum-inspired algorithm solutions, headquartered in the United States with research and development operations in Europe. Originally incorporated as Unigrid Software in 2019, the company rebranded in 2021 to reflect its strategic focus on commercializing emerging quantum technologies for enterprise and government customers.

The company’s flagship product, Qatalyst, is a quantum-inspired optimization platform that applies advanced heuristic solvers to address complex combinatorial problems in logistics, supply chain management, finance and other data-intensive fields.