TLDR
- D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) dropped 3.5% on Wednesday, hitting an intraday low of $17.87 before closing at $18.28
- The selloff was part of a broader quantum sector pullback, with IonQ falling 4.5% and Rigetti down 5.3%
- Wednesday’s decline came after Tuesday’s inflation-driven rally, with profit-taking blamed for the reversal
- Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on QBTS with a price target of $36.80, well above current levels
- Insider selling has picked up recently, with CEO Alan Baratz offloading over 687,000 shares in June
D-Wave Quantum stock fell 3.5% on Wednesday, closing at $18.28 after touching an intraday low of $17.87. The prior close was $18.95. Trading volume came in at around 15.3 million shares, about half the average daily volume of 31 million.
The drop was not unique to D-Wave. The entire quantum computing sector pulled back on Wednesday after rallying the day before on cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data.
IonQ fell 4.5%, Rigetti dropped 5.3%, and Quantum Computing Inc., Arqit, and Xanadu also finished in the red. The broader market, by contrast, moved higher — making the quantum selloff look sector-specific.
Tuesday’s gains were tied to June inflation data that raised hopes for lower interest rates. That matters for quantum stocks because they tend to carry high valuations built on earnings that are still years out. When rate-cut expectations improve, those future profits look more valuable today.
But that bounce didn’t last long.
Wednesday’s decline appears to have been driven by profit-taking rather than any new negative news for the sector. Weakness in parts of the semiconductor space may have also dampened appetite for smaller, high-risk names.
Sector Still Under Pressure Year-to-Date
It’s worth putting Tuesday’s rally in context. Many quantum names, including D-Wave, Rigetti, and IonQ, are still well below where they started the year. One good day on a macro catalyst doesn’t change the underlying picture.
These are companies with limited revenue, ongoing cash burn, and uncertain timelines to profitability. That makes them sensitive to investor sentiment and interest rate expectations in a way that more established tech companies simply aren’t.
D-Wave’s most recent earnings, reported May 12, showed a loss of $0.05 per share — better than the $0.08 loss analysts expected. But revenue was only $2.86 million for the quarter, well below the $4.19 million estimate, and down 80.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
Insider Selling Raises Eyebrows
On top of the weak revenue, insider activity has drawn attention. CEO Alan Baratz sold 687,627 shares on June 8 at an average price of $26.13, a transaction worth roughly $18 million. That reduced his stake by about 17%.
Director John Dilullo also sold 7,850 shares in early June at $24.43 per share. In total, insiders sold over 1.36 million shares in the past three months for proceeds of around $35.8 million.
Insider sales don’t always signal trouble — many are planned well in advance under Rule 10b5-1 arrangements, as was the case with Dilullo’s sale. But the volume stands out given where the stock currently sits.
Despite all this, Wall Street analysts remain broadly constructive. Fourteen analysts carry a Buy rating on QBTS, with a consensus price target of $36.80. Canaccord recently trimmed its target from $43 to $41 but kept its Buy rating. Stifel set a $35 target in June.
D-Wave’s market cap sits at around $6.76 billion. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.83.
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