Israel Englander’s Millennium Management bought roughly 2.27 million shares of D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) in late 2024 for approximately $16.4 million, according to a 24/7 Wall St. article published May 28, 2025. One year later, the verdict is clear: the billionaire was right on the thesis, but the stock chart since then resembles a rollercoaster missing a few safety bars.
D-Wave Quantum stock has been one of the more rewarding (and punishing) ways to play the quantum theme. From the original article’s publication to May 14, 2026, shares rose from $17.00 to $22.13, a gain of 30.2%. Stretch the window slightly and the math gets more dramatic: the trailing 12 months show a 99.7% return. Englander’s reported entry price is well below current levels, so his firm’s late-2024 buy looks prescient.
The Wild Ride
The stock’s path was anything but linear. The 52-week range stretches from $11.32 to $46.75, an enormous trading band for a name with an $8.2 billion market cap. The stock’s beta is 2.69, more than double the broader market’s volatility. Year-to-date 2026 returns are negative 15.4% even after a 30.4% surge over the past 30 days, and on May 12, 2026, the stock dropped 9.59% in a single session to $20.88. Reddit sentiment data captured the whiplash: WallStreetBets activity spiked to 481 upvotes in a single time window on October 24, 2025, with sentiment scores swinging from 71 (very bullish) to 1 (very bearish) within 48 hours.
What Backstops the Thesis
The fundamentals have moved in D-Wave’s favor since Englander’s reported buy. Full-year 2025 revenue reached $24.59 million, up 179% year over year, and Q1 2026 bookings hit $33.40 million, up nearly 2,000% year over year, anchored by a $20 million Florida Atlantic University system deal and a $10 million Fortune 100 QCaaS agreement. CEO Alan Baratz framed the strategic position bluntly: “As the only quantum computing company pursuing both annealing and gate-model quantum computing systems, we believe that D-Wave is uniquely positioned to participate in the full addressable quantum computing market.” The January 2026 acquisition of Quantum Circuits accelerated the gate-model roadmap, and the company is set to host its first-ever Investor Day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 1, 2026.
The Forward Setup
Sell-side coverage remains constructive. The $35.17 Wall Street consensus price target stands against a mix of one Strong Buy, 12 Buy, two Hold, and no Sell ratings (roughly 87% bullish). The 247 Factor target is $44.35, implying 100.4% upside, though the model carries medium confidence (0.5) because of the negative EPS. Q1 2026 net loss came in at $18.36 million, or $0.05 per share, and operating cash burn ran at negative $44.96 million for the quarter. The $588.4 million cash position provides runway, but this remains a speculative growth name where quarterly revenue is notably lumpy.
The Take
The lesson from this trade is about position sizing when beta runs at 2x. A retiree who bought at the time of the original article and held is comfortably ahead. Anyone who chased the $46+ highs earlier in 2026 is underwater. Following smart money works when the thesis is correct and the entry is patient. Englander’s call on D-Wave checks the first box, but the wild ride is a reminder that timing, not just conviction, determines whether retail investors actually capture the win.
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