NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 10:07 ET
- D-Wave Quantum shares were little changed on Monday after a three-session slide that erased most of a Dec. 22 surge.
- Analyst price targets for the quantum-computing company range from the mid-$30s to mid-$40s, while some bearish notes flag deeper downside.
- Quantum peers IonQ, Rigetti and Quantum Computing Inc were lower in early trading.
D-Wave Quantum shares were little changed on Monday as the stock tried to stabilize after a sharp pullback that has renewed debate over how to value early-stage quantum-computing companies. Shares traded at about $25.35 in morning trade.
The swings matter because U.S.-listed “pure-play” quantum stocks — companies focused mainly on quantum rather than diversified technology businesses — have become one of the market’s most volatile corners into year-end. New analyst coverage has added targets and narratives, but it has not narrowed the gap between bullish long-term forecasts and near-term valuation concerns. Fintel+3TipRanks+3TipRanks+3
D-Wave is also headed into January with a set of high-visibility events that traders have treated as sentiment catalysts, including appearances tied to CES 2026 and the company’s annual user conference.
Price data from Investing.com show D-Wave jumped 20% on Dec. 22 to close at $32.19, then fell in each of the next three sessions to end Dec. 26 at $25.29. Friday’s trading range ran from $24.765 to $27.50, with 33.56 million shares traded, the same data showed.
A weekend round-up by TechStock² said the retreat followed a headline-fueled surge and quick profit-taking, with no major company-specific negative news cited.
The Dec. 22 jump came after D-Wave said it would participate in CES 2026 as a sponsor of the CES Foundry, a two-day event in Las Vegas on Jan. 7-8. “The technology is quickly moving into the mainstream,” said Murray Thom, vice president of quantum technology evangelism, in the company’s CES announcement. D-Wave Quantum
D-Wave sells quantum systems and cloud access, and it is best known for “quantum annealing” — a quantum approach used mainly for optimization problems such as scheduling and routing — alongside longer-term work on “gate-model” systems that aim to run more general quantum algorithms. D-Wave Quantum+1
The valuation debate has been sharpened by the company’s small revenue base. In its third-quarter results released in November, D-Wave said revenue was $3.7 million and it held more than $836 million in cash as of Sept. 30.
Wall Street’s target spread reflects how uneven expectations remain. Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $35 price target, while Jefferies started with a Buy and a $45 target and Mizuho with an Outperform and a $46 target, according to separate posts from TheFly on TipRanks, here and here.
On a broader consensus view, data on Fintel showed an average one-year price target of $38.59, with forecasts ranging from $22.77 to $50.40.
Bearish notes have pushed back on the rally. In a Dec. 27 analysis, Trefis said $18 “is not out of question,” citing past trading levels and its negative view on the stock. Trefis
The wider quantum group also slipped on Monday. IonQ shares were down about 1.8% at $45.19, Rigetti fell about 3.1% to $21.69, and Quantum Computing Inc dropped about 2.2% to $10.43.
The recent move in D-Wave stands out even within a sector known for sharp swings. Investing.com listed D-Wave’s 52-week range at $3.74 to $46.75.
A Motley Fool analysis hosted by Nasdaq highlighted D-Wave’s commercial positioning and cash balance, but said a much bigger re-rating would likely require progress toward fault-tolerant — meaning error-corrected — gate-model systems.
Quantum stocks have drawn attention beyond Wall Street research, with Fast Company noting last week that the group has swung sharply during holiday trading.
For D-Wave investors, the next test is whether January’s CES and conference appearances can sustain momentum after the pullback — or whether valuation concerns continue to dominate trading into the new year.
