D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) Trading 8.5% Higher – What’s Next?

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) shot up 8.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $20.60 and last traded at $20.39. 19,461,048 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 28,779,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.80.

D-Wave Quantum News Summary

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 roughly 85%–86% upside from recent levels. The firm highlighted D-Wave’s commercial revenue potential, providing a significant catalyst for the stock. D-Wave Quantum Stock Climbs as BMO Turns Bullish
• Positive Sentiment: NTT DOCOMO deployed a second production application powered by D-Wave to improve mobile-network planning and efficiency. The deployment expands the relationship beyond pilot projects and offers evidence that D-Wave’s technology is being used in commercial telecom operations. D-Wave Lands Second Production Telecom Application
• Positive Sentiment: D-Wave’s order and contracted-revenue indicators remain strong. First-half bookings reportedly surged 1,120% year over year to $35.5 million, while remaining performance obligations rose 668% to $40.7 million. Nearly $23 million of contracted revenue could be recognized within 12 months, and commercial customers generated 67.7% of first-half revenue. D-Wave: Demand Is Outrunning Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary are increasingly focused on whether D-Wave can convert customer interest, bookings and production applications into sustained revenue and eventual profitability. Some quantum stocks continue to attract attention for their growth prospects despite a tougher market. Quantum Stocks Face Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern. After approximately a 15-fold three-year gain, D-Wave screens as expensive on valuation measures, raising the risk that substantial future progress is already reflected in the share price. D-Wave Quantum Stock Looks Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: Quantum-computing stocks have recently faced broad sector selling, while Zacks Research downgraded D-Wave from “Strong Buy” to “Hold.” These factors could limit gains even as company-specific news improves sentiment. Quantum Stock Selloff

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on QBTS. Zacks Research downgraded D-Wave Quantum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Benchmark started coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $35.00 price objective on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Thirteen equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.27.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.72 and a beta of 2.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 20.55 and a quick ratio of 20.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.62 and a 200 day moving average of $20.24.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 0.6 on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at D-Wave Quantum

In other D-Wave Quantum news, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $17,967,693.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,299,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,223,016.23. This trade represents a 17.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rohit Ghai sold 13,518 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $357,010.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,724.97. This represents a 36.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,012,065 shares of company stock valued at $26,245,703 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 12.0% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 59.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 162,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 60,668 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 201.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 200,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after buying an additional 134,066 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 93.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 52,437 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 125.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 24,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.47% of the company’s stock.

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.