D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Trading 20.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)’s stock price rose 20.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after Benchmark upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $19.54 and last traded at $19.51. 48,169,823 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 58% from the average session volume of 30,392,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.21.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research upgraded D-Wave Quantum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on D-Wave Quantum from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of D-Wave Quantum from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, D-Wave Quantum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.47.

Insider Transactions at D-Wave Quantum

In other D-Wave Quantum news, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $52,036.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 589,009 shares in the company, valued at $9,983,702.55. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rohit Ghai sold 13,518 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $357,010.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,724.97. This represents a 36.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,363,842 shares of company stock valued at $35,789,148. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting D-Wave Quantum

Here are the key news stories impacting D-Wave Quantum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded AT&T partnership strengthens commercialization prospects. AT&T is expanding its use of D-Wave’s quantum-annealing technology for network operations. A highlighted benchmark reduced a network optimization task from approximately 60 minutes to 15 seconds—a 240-fold acceleration—providing evidence that D-Wave’s systems can address real-world enterprise workloads. D-Wave Quantum Expands AT&T Partnership for Network Operations
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved. Benchmark upgraded D-Wave Quantum to “Strong Buy,” while Rosenblatt reaffirmed its Buy rating and maintained a $43 price target. The target implies substantial upside from recent trading levels. Analysts have also cited D-Wave’s bookings, revenue visibility and strong liquidity ahead of its next earnings report. Rosenblatt Reiterates Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Profit-taking and broader technology concerns are affecting the stock. Quantum-computing shares retreated after the AT&T announcement triggered a strong sector-wide rally. Concerns linked to Nvidia-led AI infrastructure spending appear to be prompting investors to reduce risk, suggesting the recent weakness may reflect market positioning rather than deterioration in D-Wave’s AT&T opportunity. Quantum Stocks Retreat in Premarket
• Negative Sentiment: Operating performance remains a key risk. D-Wave’s latest quarter produced revenue of $2.86 million, 80.9% below the prior-year period and below analyst expectations. Although its loss per share was narrower than forecast, the company remains unprofitable and highly dependent on converting partnerships and bookings into sustained revenue growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling provides a minor cautionary signal. Vice President Sophie Ames sold 3,070 shares for approximately $52,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale represented only 0.52% of her holdings, limiting its significance. SEC Insider Filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QBTS. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 541.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,089,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,737,000 after purchasing an additional 10,205,427 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in D-Wave Quantum by 136,842.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,194,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,546,000 after acquiring an additional 3,192,533 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 311.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,548,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685,980 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc raised its holdings in D-Wave Quantum by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,592,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in D-Wave Quantum by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,648,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941,762 shares during the period. 42.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

D-Wave Quantum Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of -14.49 and a beta of 2.11. 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 50 day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.07.

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

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.