D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) Stock Price Down 6.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) were down 6.4% on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $19.46 and last traded at $19.53. Approximately 12,840,482 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 29,045,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.87.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on QBTS. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a report on Thursday, August 6th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target 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, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $17,967,693.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,299,771 shares in the company, valued at $86,223,016.23. This trade represents a 17.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sophie C. Ames sold 3,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total transaction of $52,036.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 589,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,983,702.55. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,340,817 shares of company stock worth $35,352,133. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On D-Wave Quantum

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

D-Wave Quantum Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 20.55, a quick ratio of 20.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.25. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of -27.21 and a beta of 2.15.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 0.6 compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.