Go to the list of all blogs
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Sep 03, 2026
D-Wave Quantum (QBTS): Can It Reclaim the $40 Level?

D-Wave Quantum (QBTS): Can It Reclaim the $40 Level?

Key Takeaways

  • Investors continue to ask whether D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) can return to the $40 level, a round-number target cited by several Wall Street firms.
  • The main bullish argument centers on an order book that has grown sharply even while reported revenue has remained modest, alongside expanding production deployments and U.S. government support.
  • The primary challenges include uneven revenue recognition, widening operating losses, a valuation that embeds significant future growth, and a technical picture that sits below key moving averages.
  • Key support rests near the 52-week low around $12.75, with resistance in the low-$20s and again near prior highs around $46.75.
  • Reaching $40 would require roughly a 140% advance from recent levels, so the outlook hinges on bookings converting into recognized revenue more rapidly than they have to date.

Why the $40 Level Draws Attention

D-Wave Quantum develops quantum annealing computing systems, software, and services, and it has drawn steady interest within the emerging quantum-computing space. After reaching a peak near $46.75 in late 2025, the stock has retreated and recently traded around $16.50, giving the company a market capitalization near $6.1 billion. That pullback has led many investors to wonder whether QBTS can realistically revisit the $40 mark.

The $40 level is not random. Firms including Cantor Fitzgerald, Jefferies, Craig-Hallum, and Wedbush have issued $40 price targets, positioning the round number in the upper half of the consensus range. Because the stock has already traded above $40, the target represents a return to familiar territory rather than a leap into unknown valuation territory.

Current Market Position

Recent results present a mixed picture. In the latest quarter, revenue held essentially flat year over year at about $3.1 million and fell short of estimates, while the adjusted EBITDA loss widened to roughly $37.1 million amid higher spending on development and commercialization. The company closed the period with approximately $546 million in cash and marketable securities, a sizable buffer that shrank partly due to the roughly $250 million acquisition of Quantum Circuits.

Demand signals, however, strengthened markedly. First-half bookings jumped more than 1,120% year over year to about $35.5 million, and remaining performance obligations rose to roughly $40.7 million. Management expects a meaningful share of that backlog to convert within twelve months, and a roughly $20 million system sale to Florida Atlantic University is slated for delivery and recognition largely in the fourth quarter.

Factors That Could Support Further Gains

The clearest route to $40 runs through revenue conversion. Successful shipment of annealing systems and recognition of the RPO as sales would lift the top line and validate the demand already secured. Management also plans to deliver a 17-qubit gate-based system by the end of 2026 and has mapped a longer roadmap toward fault-tolerant, 100-logical-qubit systems by 2032.

Commercial traction is expanding in ways that could underpin a higher valuation. Six customer applications are now running in production, and production use accounts for more than a third of quantum-computing-as-a-service revenue, a sharp increase from the prior year. Deployments with large customers have shown measurable operational gains, and a partnership in financial-crime detection points to wider enterprise use. U.S. government backing, including up to $100 million under the CHIPS Act, adds further validation of the dual annealing and gate-based strategy. I also checked this using Tickeron’s AI Trend Prediction Engine to see how the broader sector momentum compares.

Obstacles That Could Limit Upside

Several hurdles stand between the current price and $40. Revenue remains lumpy and tied to a small number of large system sales, so quarterly results can vary sharply. The company is still deeply unprofitable, and a valuation that already prices in years of growth leaves little margin for execution shortfalls. Competition from better-funded names such as IonQ (IONQ) and Rigetti Computing (RGTI), along with large technology incumbents, raises the bar for sustained commercial progress.

Volatility is another consideration. With a beta well above 2, QBTS has seen frequent double-digit single-day moves, and recent insider selling adds a note of caution. Failure to convert bookings into revenue could keep the shares range-bound well below the $40 goal.

Analyst Targets and Technical Levels

Analyst sentiment stays largely positive. The consensus recommendation sits in “buy” territory, with an average price target of roughly $35 to $36, a low near $22, and a high near $43 to $45. The $40 objective therefore sits modestly above the consensus average yet receives backing from multiple individual firm targets.

From a technical standpoint the outlook is more guarded. The stock has traded below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling a downtrend that has not yet reversed. The 52-week low near $12.75 remains the key support level, while the low-$20s represent an initial resistance that would need to be cleared before a sustained move toward $40 becomes realistic.

Monitoring QBTS with AI Tools

When tracking names like QBTS and the wider quantum-computing group, I often rely on Tickeron’s AI Daily Buy/Sell Signals as part of my routine review. The tool applies artificial intelligence to scan thousands of stocks and ETFs, producing automated Buy, Sell, or Hold signals drawn from technical behavior, trend shifts, and AI-driven analysis. This helps surface fresh ideas, follow existing holdings, and spot changing conditions more quickly than manual checks alone would allow, which is especially useful in volatile sectors where momentum can shift rapidly.

Disclaimer

The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.

Disclaimers and Limitations

Related Ticker: QBTS

Contributor

Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.


QBTS in upward trend: price may jump up because it broke its lower Bollinger Band on August 26, 2026

QBTS may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options. In of 29 cases where QBTS's price broke its lower Bollinger Band, its price rose further in the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bullish Trend Analysis

The Stochastic Oscillator shows that the ticker has stayed in the oversold zone for 8 days. The price of this ticker is presumed to bounce back soon, since the longer the ticker stays in the oversold zone, the more promptly an upward trend is expected.

Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where QBTS advanced for three days, in of 191 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

Bearish Trend Analysis

The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on August 18, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on QBTS as a result. In of 65 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for QBTS turned negative on August 24, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 31 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In of the 31 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at .

QBTS moved below its 50-day moving average on August 17, 2026 date and that indicates a change from an upward trend to a downward trend.

Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where QBTS declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .

The Aroon Indicator for QBTS entered a downward trend on September 08, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.

Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)

The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating fairly steady price growth. QBTS’s price grows at a lower rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Valuation Rating of (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is significantly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (6.075) is normal, around the industry mean (8.186). P/E Ratio (0.000) is within average values for comparable stocks, (38.901). QBTS's Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.000) is slightly lower than the industry average of (1.512). QBTS has a moderately low Dividend Yield (0.000) as compared to the industry average of (0.016). QBTS's P/S Ratio (500.000) is very high in comparison to the industry average of (55.691).

The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating weak sales and an unprofitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.

The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to worse than average earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. QBTS’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 87, placing this stock worse than average.

Notable companies

The most notable companies in this group are Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL), Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET), Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX), Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC), HP (NYSE:HPQ), 3D Systems Corp (NYSE:DDD).

Industry description

Computer Processing Hardware industry produces central processing unit, monitor, keyboard, computer data storage devices, and graphics card. Business activity and economic growth are potential drivers of this industry – if more businesses are growing or flourishing, so would their investments in computer equipment. Dell Technologies, Inc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., NCR Corporation are key producers of computer processing hardware.

Market Cap

The average market capitalization across the Computer Processing Hardware Industry is 31.15B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from -0.18 to 344.96B. DELL holds the highest valuation in this group at 344.96B. The lowest valued company is HAUP at -0.18.

High and low price notable news

The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the Computer Processing Hardware Industry was -1%. For the same Industry, the average monthly price growth was 2%, and the average quarterly price growth was 26%. DELL experienced the highest price growth at 26%, while PSQL experienced the biggest fall at -48%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the Computer Processing Hardware Industry was 44%. For the same stocks of the Industry, the average monthly volume growth was 3% and the average quarterly volume growth was -18%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows

Valuation Rating: 45
P/E Growth Rating: 67
Price Growth Rating: 53
SMR Rating: 80
Profit Risk Rating: 86
Seasonality Score: 2 (-100 ... +100)
View a ticker or compare two or three
QBTS
Daily Signal:
Gain/Loss:
Interact to see
Advertisement
A.I.Advisor
published price charts
A.I. Advisor
published General Information

General Information

Industry ComputerProcessingHardware

Profile
Details
Industry
N/A
Address
2650 East Bayshore Road
Phone
+1 650 285-28812
Employees
382
Web
https://www.dwavequantum.com
Interact to see
Advertisement
Shares of CRDO surged +11.90% on March 5, 2026, closing at $114.74 versus a prior close of $102.54. Primary catalyst: Strong Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings reported on March 2, with revenue of $407 million beating consensus estimates by more than $19 million and non-GAAP EPS of $1.07 surpassing forecasts by $0.29.
SPY is trading down approximately -1.30% in Friday premarket, slipping from the prior session's close of $681.31 to around $677–$678. The primary catalyst is a sharply negative February 2026 Nonfarm Payrolls report, which showed a decline of 92,000 jobs — a massive miss versus the consensus forecast of +50,000.
WAL shares dropped approximately 12% in early trading on March 6, 2026, from a prior close of ~$80.74 to roughly ~$71, marking one of the stock's sharpest single-session declines in recent months. The primary catalyst was a surprise announcement that Jefferies Financial Group declined to make a $126.4 million payment owed to Western Alliance Bank under a forbearance agreement tied to the LAM Trade Finance loan portfolio.
MRVL shares surged approximately +15% at the open on March 6, 2026, after closing at $75.68 the prior session. The primary catalyst was a strong Q4 fiscal 2026 earnings report released after the close on March 5, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.80 beating the $0.79 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.219 billion exceeding expectations.
Shares of Day One Biopharmaceuticals surged approximately +65.57% on March 6, 2026, rising from a prior close of $12.78 to an intraday price around $21.16. The primary catalyst driving the session's gains is acquisition and takeover speculation, with reports circulating that Day One may be a buyout target.
GAP shares fell approximately 13% in early trading on March 6, 2026, following the company's Q4 fiscal 2025 earnings report released after market close on March 5. Gap met Wall Street's Q4 estimates on both earnings per share and revenue, but fiscal 2026 guidance fell short of analyst expectations.
Shares of Red Cat Holdings surged approximately +22% in early Friday trading on March 6, 2026, building on a powerful week of momentum in defense drone stocks. The primary catalyst is escalating geopolitical conflict — U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, which dramatically boosted investor appetite for domestic drone and defense technology companies.
The primary catalyst for the decline was the pricing of a secondary offering of roughly 9 million shares at about 22.25 dollars per share by Ingram Holdco, an affiliate of Platinum Equity, with all proceeds going to the selling shareholder and not to Ingram Micro itself. Investors often view such secondary offerings as short‑term bearish because they increase the freely tradable float and signal that a major holder is cashing out part of its stake, even if the company’s operations remain intact.
Rumble reported Q4 2025 revenue of about 27.1 million dollars, below consensus expectations near 29 million dollars and down roughly 10% year over year, confirming that top‑line momentum has stalled. GAAP EPS came in at a loss of around 0.13 dollars, missing analyst estimates by roughly 0.05 dollars and underscoring that the platform remains far from break‑even despite prior cost cuts and efficiency efforts.
Tronox’s Q4 2025 non‑GAAP EPS came in at a loss of about 0.60 dollars, missing expectations by roughly 0.02 dollars, while revenue of around 730 million dollars grew about 8% year over year, showing volume resilience but weak earnings power.
Defense budgets worldwide are surging — global military spending topped $2.2 trillion in 2023, a record high — while semiconductor demand is projected to reach a $1 trillion industry by 2030. At the intersection of these two mega-trends sits one of Tickeron's most strategically focused AI Trading Robots: the XAR, ITA, SOXL – AI Trading Agent (3 Tickers), 15min.
HIMS shares surged approximately +43.85% in premarket trading on Monday, March 9, 2026, rising from a prior close of $15.74 to around $22.80. Primary catalyst: Novo Nordisk officially ended its patent infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers and announced a landmark partnership to distribute branded Wegovy through the Hims platform at $599/month.
XENE shares surged approximately +45.93% in premarket trading on March 9, 2026, one of the largest single-session moves in the company's history. The primary catalyst: Xenon announced positive topline Phase 3 X-TOLE2 results for its lead drug candidate azetukalner in focal onset seizures (FOS), meeting the primary endpoint with overwhelming statistical significance.
Shares of OLMA dropped approximately 41% in Monday's session, one of the steepest single-day declines in the company's history. The primary catalyst was Roche's Phase 3 persevERA trial failure — a late-stage study of giredestrant, a closely competing selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD), which missed its primary endpoint of statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival.
RLMD shares surged approximately +40% at the open on March 9, 2026, rising from a prior close of $4.45 to approximately $6.23, driven by a major clinical trial readout. The primary catalyst was the announcement of 12-month interim data from the Phase 2 trial of NDV-01, Relmada's lead oncology candidate, in patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) — results that significantly exceeded historical benchmarks.
CRCL surged +8.66% on Monday, March 9, 2026, rising from a prior close of $101.94 to trade at $110.77 intraday. The primary catalyst is a landmark stablecoin milestone: Circle's USDC overtook Tether as the dominant stablecoin by transfer volume, accounting for approximately 70% of all stablecoin transfer activity as total stablecoin transfers hit $1.8 trillion in February.
Carnival Corporation (CCL) shares fell approximately -7.60% in Monday's session, dropping from a Friday close of $25.79 to around $23.83. The primary catalyst is a broad market sell-off driven by intensifying recession fears, with the S&P 500 and consumer discretionary names bearing the brunt of the pressure.
Shares of Bloom Energy (BE) are surging approximately +10.30% in Monday's session, rebounding sharply from a steep -15.50% selloff on Friday, March 6, 2026. Friday's decline was triggered by an Oracle-OpenAI data center project update that spooked energy infrastructure investors; Monday's move reflects aggressive dip-buying and a sentiment reset.
IGV has rallied about 8–9% in the last 6 trading days, while SOXX has dropped about 8%, giving software a +16.6 percentage‑point edge—the largest 6‑day software‑over‑semi outperformance ever.[barchart]​ This comes right after software lagged semis by almost −15 percentage points into late January, the widest gap since 2008, and as hedge‑fund short exposure to U.S. software and services hit a record ~3.8% of market cap.
Crude’s explosive war‑driven spike faded on March 9 because the market suddenly started to price less extreme, shorter‑lived supply risk and more policy intervention, not a multi‑month shortage. WTI, which had briefly traded above 115–120 dollars on Iran‑war headlines and Strait of Hormuz fears, slid back toward the high‑80s as traders digested G7 reserve‑release talk, Trump’s comments about a “brief” war, and the reality that prices had run far ahead of fundamentals.