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

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) shares 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on QBTS. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Northland Securities began coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital boosted their price target on D-Wave Quantum from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded D-Wave Quantum from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, D-Wave Quantum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.47.

D-Wave Quantum Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.00 and its 200-day moving average is $21.24. The company has a current ratio of 21.41, a quick ratio of 21.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.64 and a beta of 2.11.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John M. Markovich sold 328,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total value of $9,106,430.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,442,820 shares in the company, valued at $39,966,114. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of D-Wave Quantum 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,299,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,223,016.23. This trade represents a 17.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,360,772 shares of company stock worth $35,737,111 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of D-Wave Quantum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 27,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 131,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,447,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 92,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. 42.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.