D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) Trading 9.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) were up 9.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.86 and last traded at $17.85. Approximately 15,581,150 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 27,472,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.27.

Key Headlines Impacting D-Wave Quantum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quantum stocks rallied broadly after IonQ, NVIDIA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated an AI-based method that reduced quantum-circuit compilation time from roughly 11 minutes to 28 seconds. Although the breakthrough does not directly involve D-Wave, it strengthened investor enthusiasm for the broader quantum-computing theme. IonQ, NVIDIA and D-Wave quantum stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on D-Wave’s finalized agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for access to as much as $100 million under the CHIPS and Science Act. The funding is intended to support a potential 100,000-qubit annealing system and 10,000-qubit gate-model system, reinforcing the company’s long-term roadmap.
• Positive Sentiment: D-Wave announced that it will host the Qubits Asia 2026 conference in Seoul on October 28, where it plans to showcase customer deployments and quantum-computing adoption across the Asia-Pacific region. The event could provide evidence of commercial traction, although it does not immediately add revenue. D-Wave Qubits Asia conference announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable but limited: the supplied data shows one Buy rating and a median price target of $40. These targets imply substantial upside, but they were issued months ago and may not reflect current execution risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Two law firms, including Pomerantz, announced investigations into potential securities-law claims involving D-Wave. The announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but they add headline and litigation risk. Pomerantz D-Wave investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity is a cautionary signal: the supplied data lists 15 insider sales and no purchases during the past six months. D-Wave also remains unprofitable, with its latest reported revenue below analyst expectations, leaving QBTS highly dependent on future commercialization and government support.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on QBTS. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised D-Wave Quantum from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $35.00 price objective on D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $35.00 target price on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.27.

D-Wave Quantum Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.04 and a beta of 2.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.93. The company has a quick ratio of 20.42, a current ratio of 20.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 million. D-Wave Quantum had a negative return on equity of 26.67% and a negative net margin of 2,001.59%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 0.6 compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at D-Wave Quantum

In other D-Wave Quantum news, VP Sophie Ames sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $52,036.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 589,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,983,702.55. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of D-Wave Quantum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in D-Wave Quantum during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $795,206,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,394,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,085,000 after purchasing an additional 866,405 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,183,000. Clear Street Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 4,281,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position 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 worth $92,781,000 after buying an additional 2,685,980 shares during the period. 42.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About D-Wave Quantum

D-Wave Quantum Inc develops quantum computing systems, software, and services for commercial, government, and research customers. The company is best known for its quantum annealing technology, which is designed to help solve complex optimization problems involving areas such as logistics, scheduling, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and financial modeling.

D-Wave also develops gate-model quantum computing technology and provides access to its systems through cloud-based services, including the Leap quantum application environment.