NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 4:45 a.m. ET — Market Closed
Quantum Computing Inc. (Nasdaq: QUBT) heads into the final full trading week of 2025 with investors digesting a sharp Friday pullback, fresh sector-wide commentary, and a mixed set of Wall Street price targets that underscore just how split the market remains on “pure-play” quantum names.
With U.S. exchanges closed for the weekend, QUBT won’t print another official quote until Monday’s session. But the setup is already clear: this is still a high-volatility stock sitting at the intersection of big-tech-level ambition (quantum + photonics) and early-stage financial reality (small revenues, heavy investment, and headline-driven trading).
Where QUBT stock stands heading into Monday
QUBT last closed at $10.66 on Friday (Dec. 26), down about 6.6% from the prior close of $11.42. The stock traded between $10.62 and $11.37 in the session, with volume around 13.5 million shares—notable activity for a company of its size. [1]
In extended trading late Friday, MarketBeat showed QUBT at $10.69 around 7:59 p.m. ET, a modest uptick after the close. [2]
The last 24–48 hours: what the “new” coverage is actually saying
Company-specific headlines have been relatively quiet over the past two days—there have been no new press releases posted by the company since Dec. 17. [3]
Instead, the most recent attention has centered on price-action explanations and sector watchlists:
AAII published a new recap dated Dec. 28 that focused on the Dec. 26 drop, describing QUBT’s momentum as weak and noting that one analyst downgrade over the last month may have contributed to pressure in the stock. [4]
MarketBeat, meanwhile, pushed multiple late-week roundups highlighting quantum stocks to watch, keeping QUBT in the conversation even as the group remains prone to fast reversals. [5]
Translation: over the last 24–48 hours, the “news” has been less about new corporate developments and more about how traders and analysts are framing a volatile tape into year-end.
The fundamentals investors keep circling back to: cash, capital raises, and early revenue
One reason QUBT draws outsized attention (relative to its current revenue base) is the balance sheet transformation it reported earlier this quarter.
In its third-quarter 2025 results, Quantum Computing Inc. reported $352.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $460.6 million in investments as of Sept. 30, 2025, and said it raised $500 million in gross proceeds via private placement during the quarter. The company also reported that after quarter-end it raised an additional $750 million—and CEO Dr. Yuping Huang described the firm as having “over $1.5 billion” in liquidity to pursue its strategy. [6]
That liquidity narrative matters because QUBT is still in “build mode.” The same Q3 release reported third-quarter revenue of roughly $384,000, alongside operating expenses tied to continued investment in R&D, engineering, and manufacturing ramp efforts. [7]
The strategic story: Luminar Semiconductor deal and a CEO transition days away
Two corporate developments from mid-December remain the key catalysts investors are mapping into 2026.
1) Luminar Semiconductor acquisition (proposed)
On Dec. 15, QCi announced an agreement to acquire Luminar Semiconductor, Inc. (a Luminar Technologies subsidiary) in an all-cash transaction valued at $110 million, positioning it as a move to add photonic components, IP, and engineering depth. Dr. Yuping Huang called it a “meaningful step forward” toward scaling “practical, integrated quantum solutions.” [8]
Importantly, the company’s Form 8-K describes the purchase as a stalking horse deal in a bankruptcy-court-supervised process, with the closing expected by the end of January 2026 (subject to court approval and other conditions).
2) CEO confirmation effective Jan. 1
On Dec. 17, Quantum Computing Inc. confirmed Dr. Yuping Huang as Chief Executive Officer, effective Jan. 1, 2026, after serving as interim CEO since April. The release frames the leadership move as part of a shift from prototypes and small-batch builds toward scaled manufacturing. [9]
These are not day-trading footnotes. They’re the kind of longer-horizon catalysts that can suddenly become “short-term news” again if a filing hits, a timetable changes, or another bidder emerges in the Luminar process.
Wall Street forecasts: neutral-to-bullish targets, with wide disagreement on upside
Analyst coverage for QUBT remains mixed—and the dispersion is the headline.
Wedbush: Neutral / Hold
Investing.com reported that Wedbush launched coverage of the quantum sector and started Quantum Computing at Neutral, while rating IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave at Outperform. Wedbush analyst Antoine Legault called quantum “transformational,” while emphasizing that broader traction timing is still “a question mark,” and modeled quantum systems as a small slice of total compute spending by 2030. [10]
StockAnalysis’ ratings log lists Wedbush’s initiation on QUBT at Hold with a $12 price target (dated Dec. 17). [11]
Ascendiant: Buy, but trimming expectations
Multiple trackers show Ascendiant Capital analyst Edward Woo maintaining a bullish stance while lowering his target—StockAnalysis lists a move from $40 to $25 on Dec. 22, while keeping a “Strong Buy” designation. [12]
A Webull item (sourced from Benzinga) also reported Woo’s Buy maintained with the $25 target cut. [13]
Cantor Fitzgerald and Lake Street: targets in the mid-teens
StockAnalysis lists Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Troy Jensen at Hold with a $15 target (Dec. 18) and Lake Street analyst Max Michaelis maintaining a Strong Buy while cutting from $24 to $16 (Nov. 17). [14]
Consensus targets vary by data provider
Here’s where investors need to read the fine print: “consensus” depends on the dataset.
A Nasdaq-hosted Fintel summary pegged an average one-year price target around $20.40, with forecasts ranging from roughly $12.12 to $42.00 (as of late Dec.). [15]
Meanwhile, MarketBeat’s analyst roundup cited a consensus target closer to $17 and described the overall consensus rating as “Hold.” [16]
So the street is effectively saying: there’s upside if the story executes—but there’s no agreement on how much, how soon, or how reliably.
A volatility accelerant investors shouldn’t ignore: short interest
QUBT’s trading behavior can be jet-fuelled by positioning.
Finviz lists short interest around 45.34 million shares, with a short float near 22.84% (based on a Dec. 15 reporting date shown on the same page). [17]
MarketBeat’s short-interest dashboard also highlights the stock’s short-interest profile alongside the late-Friday pricing. [18]
High short interest doesn’t guarantee a squeeze, but it can amplify moves in either direction—especially in thin-liquidity periods like the last week of December.
What investors should know before the next session
Because the market is closed right now, the practical question for QUBT holders (and would-be buyers) isn’t “what happened at 10:32 a.m.” It’s “what could re-price this on Monday?”
The watchpoints are straightforward:
The Luminar Semiconductor acquisition timeline: the company’s filings describe a court-supervised process and a targeted close by late January 2026. Any update to that path can move the stock quickly.
The CEO transition date (Jan. 1) and how management frames near-term execution vs. long-term roadmap as 2026 begins. [19]
The next visible catalyst window: CES 2026 runs Jan. 6–9 in Las Vegas, and QCi has said it plans live demos positioned around quantum photonics and real-world decisioning use cases. [20]
And, always with QUBT, the combination of high short interest and active retail participation—a recipe for fast gaps at the open if sentiment shifts over a weekend. [21]
For now, QUBT enters Monday with the same core tension it’s carried for months: a well-funded, acquisition-active quantum photonics narrative on one side, and an early-revenue operating profile (plus heavy volatility) on the other. Investors will be watching whether Friday’s selloff was a year-end liquidity blip—or the start of a deeper reset heading into 2026. [22]
References
1. www.aaii.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. quantumcomputinginc.com, 4. www.aaii.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. www.prnewswire.com, 7. www.prnewswire.com, 8. quantumcomputinginc.com, 9. quantumcomputinginc.com, 10. www.investing.com, 11. stockanalysis.com, 12. stockanalysis.com, 13. www.webull.com, 14. stockanalysis.com, 15. www.nasdaq.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. finviz.com, 18. www.marketbeat.com, 19. quantumcomputinginc.com, 20. quantumcomputinginc.com, 21. finviz.com, 22. www.prnewswire.com
