D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) experienced a significant surge in its stock price, climbing by 11.5% during trading on Wednesday. The stock reached a high of $25.29 before closing at $25.09. Approximately 39,641,502 shares were traded, marking a 36% decline from the average daily volume of 62,035,285 shares. The previous closing price stood at $22.50.
Analyst activity played a pivotal role in this uptick, with multiple research reports influencing market sentiment. Notably, on November 6, Zacks Research upgraded D-Wave’s rating from “strong sell” to “hold.” Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on August 5, assigning a “buy” rating along with a price target of $26.00. Benchmark also raised its price target significantly from $20.00 to $35.00, maintaining a “buy” rating as of November 10. Roth Capital further set a price objective of $40.00 on the same day.
Currently, twelve analysts have rated D-Wave Quantum with a “buy” rating, one has issued a “hold,” and one has assigned a “sell” rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock holds a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $29.85.
Quarterly Earnings Reveal Positive Growth
D-Wave Quantum released its quarterly earnings data on November 6, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.05), which exceeded the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. The company generated revenue of $3.74 million, surpassing analyst expectations of $3.03 million. This represents a remarkable 105.6% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.
Despite the positive revenue growth, D-Wave Quantum reported a negative return on equity of 97.58% and a negative net margin of 1,651.81%. Analysts forecast that the company will post an EPS of ($0.41) for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity and Institutional Investments
In recent insider trading activity, Director Rohit Ghai sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $17.93 on September 15, amounting to a total of $179,300. Following this transaction, Ghai retained 47,778 shares valued at approximately $856,659.54, which represents a 17.31% decrease in ownership.
Additionally, CFO John M. Markovich sold 200,000 shares on November 20 for about $4,588,000, which reflected an 11.88% reduction in his holdings, leaving him with 1,482,874 shares valued at approximately $34,017,129.56. In total, insiders sold 1,379,813 shares worth $36,891,986 over the past ninety days, with corporate insiders owning 3.20% of the company’s stock.
Institutional interest in D-Wave Quantum has also increased recently. IFP Advisors Inc. raised its stake by 123.8% in the second quarter, owning 14,814 shares worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,194 shares. World Investment Advisors and Farther Finance Advisors LLC also made significant purchases during the same period.
Overall, institutional investors currently hold 42.47% of the company’s stock, reflecting growing confidence in D-Wave Quantum’s potential in the quantum computing sector.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. specializes in developing quantum computing systems, software, and services globally. The company offers its fifth-generation quantum computer, Advantage, along with a suite of open-source Python tools named Ocean. Their cloud-based service, Leap, allows real-time access to quantum computing resources.
As D-Wave continues to expand its market presence, analysts will closely monitor its performance and adjustments to investment strategies.
