D-Wave Quantum Inc (NYSE:QBTS) is surging ahead of the open after announcing that AT&T (T) will expand its use of the company's quantum computing technology to optimize network operations. According to the companies, early testing reduced processing time for a network optimization workload from roughly one hour to less than 15 seconds. AT&T also plans to integrate D-Wave's annealing quantum computing technology into tools supporting its agentic artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
At last glance, QBTS was up 9.1% at $17.68 in premarket trading, enjoying a much-needed boost. The stock is fresh off five-straight weekly losses, dealing with pressure from the 10-day moving average, and is heading into today with a 38% year-to-date deficit.
A bout of short covering could fuel further gains, considering short interest represents 17.6% of the stock's available float.
Options traders have shown a strong preference for calls. The stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.53 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 85% of annual readings.
Meanwhile, D-Wave Quantum's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 83 out of 100 indicates the stock has consistently exceeded options traders' volatility expectations over the past year.
