D-Wave Quantum Shares Experience Small Decline Following Insider Sales

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) saw its stock price decrease by 0.4% on Tuesday after news broke of an insider selling shares. On that day, the stock traded as low as $5.55 before finishing at $5.56. A total of approximately 17,424,361 shares were exchanged during mid-day trading, marking a significant drop of 84% from the average daily volume of 107,574,266 shares. The previous close was recorded at $5.58.

The insider selling was primarily attributed to CEO Alan E. Baratz, who sold 8,372 shares on Thursday, January 23rd. This sale occurred at an average price of $5.27, amounting to a total of $44,120.44. After this sale, Baratz retained ownership of 2,342,208 shares, which are now valued at $12,343,436.16, resulting in a 0.36% decrease in his ownership stake. The transaction was reported in a legal filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a similar transaction, CFO John M. Markovich sold 5,582 shares on the same day. His shares were also sold at an average price of $5.27, totaling $29,417.14. Following the sale, Markovich holds 1,064,556 shares valued at approximately $5,610,210.12, reflecting a 0.52% reduction in his position. The details of this transaction can also be found in the appropriate disclosures.

Recent Analyst Activity

D-Wave Quantum has been actively covered by several analysts recently. Benchmark retained a “buy” rating with a target price of $8.00 in a note dated January 14th. Meanwhile, B. Riley raised their price target from $4.50 to $9.00 and maintained a “buy” rating. Roth MKM increased their target price from $3.00 to $7.00 with a “buy” classification on December 12th. Craig Hallum also upped their target from $2.50 to $9.00 and gave a “buy” rating. Additionally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a price target of $2.25 on November 15th. Currently, six equity research analysts have assigned a “buy” rating to the stock, establishing a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.38, as per MarketBeat.

Current Stock Performance

D-Wave Quantum Stock Overview

As of now, D-Wave Quantum has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.11 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $5.82, while the 200-day moving average rests at $2.73.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in D-Wave Quantum recently. Barclays PLC has increased its stake by 298.3% during the third quarter, now owning 120,029 shares, valued at $117,000 after acquiring an extra 89,894 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC bought a new position worth approximately $820,000 during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake by 33.8% in the third quarter, now owning 2,555,927 shares valued at $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 645,039 shares. Furthermore, State Street Corp has increased its position by 0.9% in the same quarter, owning 2,020,977 shares worth $1,986,000. Lastly, Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake by 23.0% during the third quarter, now holding 4,485,777 shares valued at $4,409,000. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.47% of D-Wave Quantum's stock.

About D-Wave Quantum

D-Wave Quantum Inc. specializes in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services globally. The company produces Advantage, a fifth-generation quantum computer, along with the Ocean suite of open-source Python tools and Leap, a cloud-based service offering real-time access to a live quantum computer and additional resources.

D-Wave, Stock, Insider