NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 5:12 p.m. ET — Market closed.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) heads into the final trading days of 2025 with U.S. equity markets shut for the weekend and investors still digesting a sharp pullback in one of the market’s most volatile “pure-play” quantum computing names. QBTS finished Friday’s regular session at $25.29, down 8.10% on the day, and was last quoted at $25.18 in after-hours trading, according to Investing.com. [1]
The weekend pause comes after a whipsaw stretch that has become familiar to traders in quantum computing stocks: a sudden, headline-fueled surge followed by fast profit-taking. Over the past week, TipRanks flagged QBTS as down 21.44%, underscoring how quickly sentiment can swing around the name. [2]
What happened to QBTS last week
QBTS’s latest slide follows a standout jump earlier in the week. On Dec. 22, the stock closed at $32.19 after gaining 20.02% in a single session, then fell in each of the next three trading sessions—closing at $29.12 (Dec. 23), $27.52 (Dec. 24), and $25.29 (Dec. 26). [3]
Friday’s trading range reflected the volatility: QBTS moved between $24.765 and $27.50, with 33.56 million shares traded, per Investing.com. [4] MarketBeat also noted the day’s volume was below its average daily volume, another sign that price swings in the stock can be amplified by changing liquidity and short-term positioning. [5]
TipRanks’ weekend recap characterized the retreat as driven “less by any negative company-specific news and more by profit-taking and heightened speculation” after the strong rally—especially following the company’s CES-related headlines that helped spark the Dec. 22 surge. [6]
The weekend news cycle: optimism, skepticism, and “high-risk, high-upside” framing
With no U.S. equity session underway on Sunday, the most “current” flow of information for QBTS has been weekend analysis—some bullish on long-term quantum adoption, others focused on near-term valuation risk and the stock’s extreme volatility.
MarketWatch: three lanes for quantum investors, pure plays = high risk.
In an opinion column published Sunday, MarketWatch columnist Charlie Garcia framed quantum investing as three main approaches: (1) pure plays (including names like IonQ and Rigetti), (2) big tech platforms that have quantum efforts, and (3) “infrastructure” areas such as quantum security. Garcia’s bottom line: pure plays can offer high upside but carry high risk, and he sees more immediate value in security-related infrastructure driven by compliance and regulatory needs. [7]
TipRanks: pullback after “red-hot rally,” but Street remains positive.
TipRanks’ weekend update reiterated that QBTS has been vulnerable to a sharp pullback after a big run, while also noting that Wall Street analysts still rate the stock a “Strong Buy” with an average price target above the latest close (per TipRanks’ framing). [8]
Trefis: a bearish scenario calls for deeper downside.
On the skeptical end, Trefis published a note Saturday arguing that QBTS had fallen 21.4% in less than a month (from $32.19 on Dec. 22 to $25.29) and that $18 “is not out of question,” citing historical trading levels and its negative view on the stock. [9]
Nasdaq/Motley Fool: commercial traction acknowledged, but a “10-bagger” is framed as low-probability.
A Nasdaq-hosted Motley Fool analysis late Saturday highlighted D-Wave’s commercial positioning in quantum annealing and pointed to the company’s recent-quarter revenue growth and cash balance, but argued that a 10x outcome looks unlikely without a commercially viable, fault-tolerant gate-model system and warned that the valuation already prices in significant future growth. [10]
Fundamentals: what D-Wave last reported
The stock’s trading narrative is happening alongside a fundamentals story D-Wave has been emphasizing: improving top-line momentum from a small base, plus a cash position it says gives it flexibility to invest.
In its third-quarter 2025 results (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025), D-Wave reported:
- Revenue of $3.7 million, up 100% year over year (from $1.9 million in Q3 2024) and up 8% sequentially from Q2 2025. [11]
- Bookings of $2.4 million, up 80% sequentially (from $1.3 million in Q2 2025), and said it closed over $12 million in additional bookings after quarter-end. [12]
- A record consolidated cash balance of $836.2 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, and noted cash proceeds from warrant exercises during and shortly after the quarter. [13]
In the same release, CEO Dr. Alan Baratz said the quarter’s results reflected “momentum… building across every aspect” of the business and pointed to revenue, bookings, and cash balance as indicators of adoption progress. [14]
Near-term catalysts investors are watching
Even as the stock cools off into the weekend, D-Wave has multiple scheduled visibility moments in early 2026 that traders may treat as potential catalysts—especially in a sector where sentiment can move on milestones, partnerships, demos, and customer case studies.
CES Foundry (Jan. 7–8, 2026).
D-Wave said it will participate in CES 2026 as a sponsor of the CES Foundry, a two-day event at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Jan. 7 and 8, 2026. D-Wave also said Murray Thom, its vice president of quantum technology evangelism, will present a masterclass and demo on Jan. 7 focused on how businesses can realize value from quantum computing today. [15]
Qubits 2026 (Jan. 27–28, 2026).
D-Wave has also announced its annual Qubits user conference will take place Jan. 27–28, 2026 in Boca Raton, Florida, and will include talks from executives, customers, and scientists, along with roadmap updates across annealing, gate-model initiatives, hybrid solvers, and quantum AI. [16]
U.S. government-focused push.
In early December, the company announced the formation of a U.S. Government Business Unit, naming Jack Sears Jr. to lead the effort. D-Wave positioned the move as a response to growing government demand for quantum solutions, and both Baratz and Sears emphasized national security and defense use cases in the announcement. [17]
Forecasts, targets, and how Wall Street is framing QBTS
While “quantum computing stock” remains one of the market’s most polarizing themes, the coverage list around D-Wave has expanded—something that can matter for a name prone to sharp moves on sentiment shifts.
Investor’s Business Daily recently noted that several large firms initiated coverage across the pure-play quantum cohort during 2025, and said D-Wave and IonQ received the most favorable ratings and highest price targets among the group—while also warning the sector remains volatile due to commercialization uncertainty. [18]
Specific price targets being cited in recent coverage include:
- Wedbush: initiated with Outperform and a $35 price target (reported as dated Dec. 17). [19]
- Jefferies: initiated with Buy and a $45 price target (reported as dated Dec. 16). [20]
- Mizuho: initiated with Outperform and a $46 price target (reported as dated Dec. 11). [21]
On the consensus side, a TipRanks quantum-stocks roundup published Sunday listed D-Wave with a “Strong Buy” consensus and cited 58.17% implied upside versus its referenced price level, alongside a “perfect 10” Smart Score in that write-up. [22]
A separate Nasdaq-hosted Fintel note on Wedbush’s initiation cited an average one-year price target of $37.81, with a forecast range of $26.04 to $50.40 (as of Dec. 5, based on its methodology and referenced close). [23]
Market context: why QBTS can swing harder than most
D-Wave trades at the intersection of two powerful market forces: (1) “future tech” enthusiasm and (2) the challenge of valuing early commercial adoption when profits are not yet a core part of the story. Reuters has previously described pure-play quantum stocks as difficult to value and prone to large price swings—an observation that continues to match day-to-day reality for the group. [24]
Investing.com’s data also highlights the magnitude of QBTS’s range over the last year, showing a 52-week range of $3.740 to $46.750 for the stock. [25]
What investors should know before the next session
Because U.S. markets are closed Sunday, the next key inflection point for QBTS is Monday’s reopening—when liquidity returns, fresh positioning happens, and any weekend headlines get repriced quickly.
Here are the main items investors and traders typically focus on heading into the next session for a stock like QBTS:
- Watch for “catalyst re-pricing” at the open. If the recent pullback has been mostly profit-taking (as some weekend analysis argues), Monday trading often becomes a test of whether dip-buying returns—or whether momentum traders continue to de-risk. [26]
- Track early-2026 event headlines. CES Foundry (Jan. 7–8) and Qubits 2026 (Jan. 27–28) are scheduled moments where D-Wave plans to highlight customer use cases and roadmap progress—exactly the kind of narrative fuel that can impact sentiment in the quantum cohort. [27]
- Treat targets as signposts, not promises. The spread between bullish targets (mid-$30s to mid-$40s) and bearish scenarios (Trefis’ $18 discussion) captures the unusually wide distribution of views on what “fair value” means for D-Wave right now. [28]
- Know the earnings-date uncertainty. The company’s next earnings date has not been formally confirmed in the sources above; third-party calendars estimate mid-March 2026 (often shown around March 12–13, depending on the calendar). Investors planning around earnings volatility typically verify the date on the company’s IR site once it’s officially announced. [29]
- Expect volatility to remain the rule, not the exception. Wall Street research coverage has expanded, but both mainstream analysis and prior reporting emphasize commercialization and execution risks—factors that can drive large swings in either direction when new data arrives. [30]
The bottom line for QBTS heading into Monday
D-Wave Quantum stock ends the weekend in a “tug-of-war” setup: heavy volatility after a fast pullback, but with a stream of bullish price targets and near-term visibility events that can quickly rekindle enthusiasm. The market’s next verdict arrives when trading resumes Monday—whether QBTS stabilizes after last week’s slide, or whether the valuation debate and risk-off positioning keep pressure on the shares. [31]
References
1. www.investing.com, 2. www.tipranks.com, 3. www.investing.com, 4. www.investing.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. www.tipranks.com, 7. www.marketwatch.com, 8. www.tipranks.com, 9. www.trefis.com, 10. www.nasdaq.com, 11. www.dwavequantum.com, 12. www.dwavequantum.com, 13. www.dwavequantum.com, 14. www.dwavequantum.com, 15. www.dwavequantum.com, 16. www.dwavequantum.com, 17. www.dwavequantum.com, 18. www.investors.com, 19. www.insidermonkey.com, 20. www.insidermonkey.com, 21. www.insidermonkey.com, 22. www.tipranks.com, 23. www.nasdaq.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.investing.com, 26. www.tipranks.com, 27. www.dwavequantum.com, 28. www.insidermonkey.com, 29. www.zacks.com, 30. www.investors.com, 31. www.investing.com
