D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) stock climbed 2.3% on Tuesday as momentum investors rushed into the stock following a Trump Administration order promoting quantum computing development.
StreetInsider.com reported massive call option buying in D-Wave stock on Tuesday, with 5.3 calls purchased for every put, signaling heavily bullish sentiment among traders.
The rally proved short-lived, with shares reversing course dramatically the following session, falling 8.9% by 2:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The sharp reversal erased all of Tuesday’s gains and then some, reflecting a classic pattern in which stocks run up on news only to give back those gains almost immediately.
President Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the government “to build a powerful quantum computer for scientific research,” with a target of having the device operational before he leaves office in 2029.
Beyond the near-term research goals, the President also called for protecting government computer systems from cyberattacks made more powerful through the use of quantum computers.
The administration’s plan involves deploying quantum computers to build what it described as “post-quantum cryptography” defenses, with a targeted completion window of 2030 or 2031.
The Trump Administration has now issued two separate executive orders bolstering quantum computing research, with one carrying a deadline of 2028 and the other targeting 2031.
While the orders represent meaningful federal backing for the quantum computing sector, investors appear to have concluded that the near-term commercial impact on companies like D-Wave may be more limited than the initial rally suggested.
D-Wave, which focuses on annealing-based quantum computing systems, has seen its stock subject to sharp swings tied to broader sentiment around quantum technology rather than company-specific financial results.
The broader quantum computing sector has attracted significant speculative interest in recent years as governments and corporations race to develop systems capable of solving problems beyond the reach of classical computers.
Wednesday’s reversal serves as a reminder that executive orders, while symbolically significant, do not immediately translate into revenue or contracts for publicly traded quantum computing firms.
