D-Wave’s Stock Price Triggers Second De-Listing Warning This Year

Insider Brief

• D-Wave Quantum Inc. stock price has traded below $1, triggering a warning from the New York Stock Exchange.
• This is the second warning for the company in 2023.
• D-Wave notified the NYSE that it intends to cure the stock price deficiency and to return to compliance with the NYSE continued listing standard.

For the second time,  D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) stock price has traded below $1, triggering a warning from the New York Stock Exchange.

According to a statement, the company reported it received notice from the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) on October 20, 2023 that it is not in compliance with Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of the Company’s common stock was less than $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

As of Oct. 26, the company’s stock was trading at 68 cents.

They added that the the notice does not mean the common stock will be immediate delisted.

D-Wave’s stock price movement triggered a warning in March, 2023, but the price of the stock regained strength in the summer and regained compliance in July. The compliance warnings and the process of regaining compliance status may mirror the overall choppiness of market conditions. The broad market has endured several upswings and downturns this year, as it reacts to geopolitical and financial news. A young company in a newly emerging industry, which tend to trade at lower prices, would be particularly vulnerable to these movements.

D-Wave notified the NYSE that it intends to cure the stock price deficiency and to return to compliance with the NYSE continued listing standard. The Company can regain compliance at any time within the six-month period following receipt of the NYSE notice if on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period the Company has a closing share price of at least $1.00 and an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month.

Under the NYSE’s rules, if the Company determines to end the stock price deficiency by taking an action that will require stockholder approval, it must also inform the NYSE . If  the price promptly exceeds $1.00 per share and remains above that level for at least 30 consecutive trading days, NYSE will consider the price condition to be cured.

Several alternatives can be considered, according to the statement. D-Wave reports it will study all of the available alternatives, including but not limited to a reverse stock split, that are subject to shareholder approval.

The Company’s common stock will continue to be listed and trade on the NYSE during this period, subject to the Company’s compliance with other NYSE continued listing standards.

According to The Quantum Insider and TQI’s Intelligence Platform, D-Wave went public in the summer of 2022 through a special purpose acquisition company — or SPAC. The deal, initially pegged at $1.35 billion, shrank due to investor redemptions, an aspect of SPAC agreements that gives investors the right to redeem their shares of the SPAC before the merger or acquisition is completed.