D-Wave Quantum Insiders Benefitted From Selling Stock At US$1.30

Although D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) shareholders have enjoyed a great week with the stock up 83%, insiders who sold stock over the past year haven't fared as well. They could have sold their shares at much higher prices and gotten a better return on their investment if they had waited.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for D-Wave Quantum

D-Wave Quantum Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Emil Michael, for US$145k worth of shares, at about US$1.35 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$5.06). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 12% of Emil Michael's stake. Emil Michael was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of D-Wave Quantum

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that D-Wave Quantum insiders own 1.3% of the company, worth about US$15m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About D-Wave Quantum Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by D-Wave Quantum insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for D-Wave Quantum you should be aware of, and 3 of them are potentially serious.

But note: D-Wave Quantum may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.