D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Trading Down 8.2% – Here’s What Happened

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) was down 8.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $24.77 and last traded at $25.2750. Approximately 33,345,380 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 60,273,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on QBTS. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut D-Wave Quantum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Williams Trading set a $35.00 price target on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 54.49 and a current ratio of 54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.72 and a beta of 1.57.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 97.58% and a negative net margin of 1,651.81%.The company had revenue of $3.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 million. The company’s revenue was up 105.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 793,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total transaction of $23,914,542.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,633,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,337,201.19. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John D. Dilullo sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.36, for a total transaction of $218,880.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $760,690.08. This represents a 22.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,342,087 shares of company stock worth $66,073,024. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of D-Wave Quantum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QBTS. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in D-Wave Quantum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the third quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 1,754.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.47% of the company’s stock.

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.