NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 5:50 p.m. ET — Market closed (weekend).
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) heads into the weekend after a sharp pullback capped a holiday-thin week for one of 2025’s most watched “pure-play” quantum computing stocks. With U.S. markets closed Saturday and Sunday, investors now have three remaining sessions in 2025 to gauge whether QBTS can stabilize—or whether the recent momentum unwind has further to run when trading resumes Monday. [1]
QBTS stock: the latest read as markets close for the weekend
QBTS last finished the regular session at $25.29, down about 8% on Friday after swinging between roughly $24.78 and $27.79. Trading volume was heavy at about 33.6 million shares, underscoring how quickly sentiment can shift in the quantum “risk-on” corner of the market. [2]
That move came as the broader U.S. market ended a quiet, light-volume, post-Christmas session nearly unchanged—an environment that can amplify stock-specific volatility, especially in fast-moving, retail-heavy themes. [3]
Why did D-Wave Quantum stock drop Friday?
In the most recent 24–48 hours, commentary around QBTS has largely converged on a simple explanation: profit-taking after an explosive run, not a new negative company headline.
MarketBeat, in coverage published Friday, described QBTS falling about 8% during the session, while also noting that the stock has been the topic of multiple research reports and remains widely followed on Wall Street. [4]
TipRanks, in a weekend update published Saturday, framed the recent slide as a pullback after “red-hot” action—pointing to heightened speculation and active options trading that can leave a momentum stock vulnerable when short-term traders lock in gains. [5]
At the macro level, Reuters described Friday’s tape as a “catching our breath” session after a strong five-day rally, quoting Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, who said the market was pausing after the holiday and highlighted the seasonal “Santa Claus rally” window that can shape year-end flows. [6]
The last 24–48 hours of QBTS headlines: what’s new
While there was no fresh D-Wave press release in the last two days, several widely circulated updates and analysis pieces in the past 24–48 hours focused on three areas:
1) The selloff itself—and what it signals
MarketBeat’s Friday write-up emphasized the magnitude of the one-day move and the still-elevated attention on the name. [7]
TipRanks’ Saturday recap stressed how quickly the stock has retraced after a burst higher earlier in the week, pointing to the risks of crowded positioning in speculative growth themes. [8]
2) Where Wall Street targets sit after a volatile December
MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy”-leaning setup in its compiled analyst view, with an average price target around $33.67, while also listing notable recent initiations and targets (including an “outperform” initiation with a $46 target from Mizuho, and coverage from Wedbush with a $35 target, among others). [9]
3) Bearish scenario work that flags downside risk if momentum breaks
Trefis published a Saturday analysis floating a downside scenario in which QBTS could fall further—arguing that after the recent correction, additional drawdown is “not out of question,” including a reference case around $18. Investors don’t have to agree with that view for it to matter; it highlights how wide the debate remains on valuation and durability of the rally. [10]
Forecasts and analyst outlook: optimism is common, but the range is wide
The bullish case for D-Wave stock in late 2025 has been reinforced by a wave of coverage initiations across quantum pure-plays—bringing more institutional-style framing (market sizing, adoption curves, cash runway, and go-to-market strategy) to what was, for years, a niche corner of public markets.
Consensus targets cluster above the current price
A frequently cited consensus set places average targets in the low-to-mid $30s, with highs into the mid-$40s, implying meaningful upside from the mid-$20s level—if execution and sentiment cooperate. [11]
Named analysts and firms to know (and what they’ve said publicly)
- Mark Lipacis (Evercore ISI) initiated coverage of D-Wave with an Outperform rating and a $44 price target earlier in December, highlighting D-Wave’s positioning in quantum annealing and its commercial posture relative to peers. [12]
- Vijay Rakesh (Mizuho) has argued quantum could be “the next big compute revolution,” initiating coverage on a basket of quantum names and assigning D-Wave an Outperform view with a $46 target in that thematic framework. [13]
The takeaway: Wall Street’s directional bias has leaned constructive—but targets are not outcomes, and QBTS has demonstrated it can move 5–10% in a day in either direction.
Fundamentals: D-Wave is still early-stage, and profitability remains the big gap
D-Wave’s investment narrative is still rooted in scaling adoption faster than expenses—an equation that has not yet resolved.
MarketBeat noted that in D-Wave’s most recently reported quarter, the company posted revenue of $3.74 million (reported as up 105.6% year over year) and an EPS loss of $0.05, beating an estimated -$0.07, while still remaining unprofitable overall. [14]
That blend—rapid percentage growth on a small base, paired with ongoing losses—is one reason the stock can trade more like a “theme proxy” than a traditional cash-flow story, especially when liquidity is thin.
The near-term catalysts investors are watching: CES 2026 and Qubits 2026
Even though Friday’s drop wasn’t tied to a new corporate announcement, D-Wave does have several calendar catalysts coming up quickly—exactly the kind of signposts that can re-ignite momentum trading.
CES 2026: visibility play in early January
On Dec. 22, 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. 7–8, 2026, where it plans to showcase its annealing quantum technology, hybrid solvers, and customer use cases. The company also said Murray Thom, vice president of quantum technology evangelism at D-Wave, will present a masterclass and demo on Jan. 7. [15]
Qubits 2026: a roadmap moment
In an SEC filing tied to Regulation FD disclosure, D-Wave said its Qubits 2026 user conference will take place in Boca Raton, Florida on Jan. 27–28, 2026, and will include discussion of its technology roadmap across annealing and gate-model initiatives. [16]
For investors, these events matter because they can produce:
- new customer proof points,
- partner announcements,
- updated technical milestones, and
- clearer commercialization timelines—
all of which can influence how the market values “quantum compute” exposure into 2026.
What investors should know before the next session
With the NYSE closed for the weekend, the next actionable window is Monday’s session, and the setup is unusual: year-end positioning, thin liquidity, and a high-volatility stock sitting near a key inflection after a steep one-day drop.
Here are the practical items investors commonly monitor into Monday:
Watch the broader tape first
Reuters described Friday’s session as light-volume and nearly unchanged, with strategists pointing to the Santa Claus rally period that runs through early January—conditions that can skew risk appetite quickly in either direction. [17]
Expect liquidity-driven swings
Late December can exaggerate moves—particularly in high-beta, high-retail-interest names—because fewer participants are setting prices.
Keep an eye on the calendar
Markets remain open into year-end with three trading days left in 2025, and a full trading day on Dec. 31, before markets close for New Year’s Day (Jan. 1, 2026). [18]
Track catalysts that can change the narrative quickly
CES 2026 (early January) and Qubits 2026 (late January) are concrete dates that can shift sentiment if D-Wave delivers compelling customer outcomes or roadmap clarity. [19]
Bottom line for QBTS stock heading into Monday
D-Wave Quantum stock is closing out the weekend at a crossroads: a steep one-day selloff against a backdrop of year-end, low-liquidity trading and a still-heated debate over how quickly quantum computing turns from promise into durable, scaled revenue.
The next session will test whether Friday’s drop was a routine momentum reset—or the start of a deeper repricing as investors rotate toward year-end risk management. Either way, QBTS remains a headline-sensitive stock where the path can change fast on fresh analyst notes, sector sentiment, or new disclosures tied to its early-2026 event calendar. [20]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.marketbeat.com, 5. www.tipranks.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.marketbeat.com, 8. www.tipranks.com, 9. www.marketbeat.com, 10. www.trefis.com, 11. www.marketbeat.com, 12. www.investors.com, 13. www.marketwatch.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.dwavequantum.com, 16. www.sec.gov, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.dwavequantum.com, 20. www.reuters.com
