Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys New Holdings in D-Wave Quantum Inc. $QBTS

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 81,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,945,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of D-Wave Quantum in the second quarter worth $795,206,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 541.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,089,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,737,000 after purchasing an additional 10,205,427 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in D-Wave Quantum by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,394,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,085,000 after purchasing an additional 866,405 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in D-Wave Quantum by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,707,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,540,000 after purchasing an additional 385,809 shares during the period. Finally, Marex Group plc boosted 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 valued at $120,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966,500 shares during the last quarter. 42.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Performance

NASDAQ QBTS opened at $20.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a PE ratio of -29.39 and a beta of 2.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.32. D-Wave Quantum Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.75 and a 1-year high of $46.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 20.55 and a quick ratio of 20.42.

D-Wave Quantum (NASDAQ:QBTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.02). D-Wave Quantum had a negative net margin of 2,001.59% and a negative return on equity of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 0.6 on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on QBTS shares. Zacks Research upgraded D-Wave Quantum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered D-Wave Quantum from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on D-Wave Quantum from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on D-Wave Quantum in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, D-Wave Quantum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.36.

Key Stories Impacting D-Wave Quantum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Financial-crime partnership expands commercial opportunity. D-Wave’s collaboration with Nasdaq Verafin applies its quantum-computing technology to financial-crime detection and compliance analytics. The agreement gives QBTS a practical banking use case beyond research and could support future customer adoption and recurring revenue. What Could D Wave Quantum Gain From Its Financial Crime Detection Push?
• Positive Sentiment: Technology and government support strengthen the long-term story. D-Wave secured up to C$300,000 from Canada’s National Research Council and reported Nature-published research on a high-fidelity, error-correcting two-qubit gate for its gate-model systems. The developments support management’s strategy of commercializing both annealing and gate-model platforms, although the funding is modest relative to the company’s valuation. The Bull Case For D-Wave Quantum Could Change Following New NRC Funding And Nature-Published Gate Breakthrough
• Positive Sentiment: Board appointment adds financial expertise. Kevan P. Krysler, a veteran technology finance executive, joined D-Wave’s board and audit committee. His experience could improve financial oversight and help support the company as it scales commercial operations, though the appointment does not immediately change earnings. D-Wave Appoints Kevan P. Krysler to Board of Directors and Audit Committee
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors need proof that momentum is repeatable. Coverage says QBTS is recovering from a mixed second-quarter report, but the company still needs sustained revenue growth, additional customers, and a credible path toward profitability to justify its valuation. D-Wave Has Momentum—What Does It Need to Keep It Going?
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and financial performance remain concerns. Other emerging quantum companies are reporting faster revenue growth, while widening losses across the sector underscore the industry’s speculative nature. D-Wave’s recent results also showed losses and revenue below analyst expectations, increasing pressure on QBTS to convert partnerships and research advances into material sales. The Quantum Race Is Heating Up—And 2 Small Players Stand Out
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk remains high. Quantum stocks continue to trade as aggressive, high-risk growth investments, with substantial losses and elevated expectations. That leaves QBTS vulnerable to further selling if commercial adoption or financial results fail to accelerate. 3 Quantum Computing Stocks for Aggressive Investors in August

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John M. Markovich sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total value of $5,142,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,142,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,381,902.20. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Alan E. Baratz sold 687,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,299,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,223,016.23. This represents a 17.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,363,842 shares of company stock valued at $35,789,148. Corporate insiders own 1.30% 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.