D-Wave Quantum Inc. (D-Wave Quantum (QBTS)) shares are trying to shake off a recent slump, ticking up more than 2% in Tuesday's premarket trading. The broader market isn't exactly cheering, though: Nasdaq futures slipped 0.02%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.33%. But the real story here isn't the morning wiggle; it's the big government check that just got signed.

Finally, a Done Deal

The quantum computing company has finalized its agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, unlocking access to up to $100 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding. This isn't a surprise; it was previously announced as a letter of intent. But now it's official, and that matters.

What the Money Will Build

D-Wave says the cash will speed up research and development for both its annealing and gate-model quantum computing technologies. The company is aiming high: a 100,000-qubit annealing system, which it says could be used for optimization, materials simulation, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. On the gate-model side, D-Wave is developing a 10,000-qubit system that it hopes will support 100 logical qubits and crank out more than 1 million operations. Think quantum chemistry and quantum AI.

CEO Alan Baratz framed the award as a way to expand domestic quantum capabilities, shore up the supply chain, and get more powerful systems into the wild.

The Government Gets a Piece

Here's the twist: as a condition of the funding, the Commerce Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in D-Wave. The company says this is designed to boost potential returns for U.S. taxpayers. It's a bit unusual, but it's part of the broader CHIPS and Science Act push to build out domestic quantum capacity and the supply chain needed to commercialize these advanced systems.

The Charts Aren't Pretty

Now for the part that might make momentum traders wince. Despite the good news, D-Wave's technical setup is still weak. The stock is sitting 9.5% below its 20-day simple moving average of $18.81 and a whopping 20.9% below its 200-day SMA of $21.52. The MACD is below its signal line, and the histogram is negative. The 20-day SMA is also below the 50-day SMA, and a death cross formed back in March when the 50-day slipped under the 200-day. That's a lot of red flags.

For traders watching the levels, $19.50 is the resistance to watch on the upside, and $16 is the support on the downside.

What Analysts Are Saying

Wall Street is still pretty bullish, though. The stock carries a Buy consensus rating with an average price forecast of $38.78. Recent analyst moves include Rosenblatt maintaining a Buy with a $43.00 forecast on July 28 and again on Aug. 7, and Wedbush maintaining an Outperform with a $40.00 target on Aug. 3.

Momentum Is Still a Concern

D-Wave builds quantum computing systems, software, and services, covering both annealing and gate-model tech. But its own scorecard gives QBTS a momentum score of 11.83, which highlights just how weak the trend profile is right now. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for short-term traders.

If you want quantum exposure without picking individual stocks, there are ETFs that track the space, including the Corgi Quantum Computing 2x Daily ETF (Corgi Quantum Computing 2x Daily ETF (XQTM)), the WisdomTree Quantum Computing Fund ETF (WisdomTree Quantum Computing Fund ETF (WQTM)), and the Tradr 2X Long QBTS Daily ETF (Tradr 2X Long QBTS Daily ETF (QBTX)).

Price Action: D-Wave shares rose 2.29% to $16.96 in Tuesday premarket trading.