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

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) were down 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. Approximately 13,027,515 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 28,960,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.53.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised D-Wave Quantum from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark initiated coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, D-Wave Quantum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.27.

Insider Transactions at D-Wave Quantum

In other D-Wave Quantum news, Director John D. Dilullo sold 7,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.43, for a total transaction of $191,775.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO John M. Markovich sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $5,142,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,142,820 shares in the company, valued at $29,381,902.20. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,012,065 shares of company stock valued at $26,245,703. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about D-Wave Quantum

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 Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in D-Wave Quantum during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in D-Wave Quantum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, PeakShares LLC bought a new position in D-Wave Quantum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 42.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.72 and a beta of 2.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.68 and its 200-day moving average is $20.23. The company has a quick ratio of 20.42, a current ratio of 20.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 million. D-Wave Quantum had a negative net margin of 2,001.59% and a negative return on equity of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 0.6 on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 EPS 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.