QBTS Cash-Secured Put Strategy
QBTS (D-Wave Quantum Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Computer Hardware industry), listed on NYSE.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. develops and delivers quantum computing systems, software, and services worldwide. The company offers Advantage, a fifth-generation quantum computer; Launch, a quantum computing onboarding service; Ocean a full suite of open-source programming tools; and Leap, a cloud-based service that provides real-time access to a live quantum computer, as well as access to Advantage, hybrid solvers, the Ocean software development kit, live code, demos, learning resources, and a vibrant developer community. It also provides D-Wave Launch, a quantum professional service that guides enterprises from problem discovery through in-production application deployment. The company's quantum solutions are used in artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. It serves manufacturing and logistics, financial services, life sciences, and other industries. D-Wave Quantum Inc. is based in Burnaby, Canada.
QBTS (D-Wave Quantum Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Computer Hardware, with a market capitalization of approximately $7.87B, a beta of 1.94 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 10.6-46.75, average daily share volume of 27.6M, a public-listing history dating back to 2020, approximately 216 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how QBTS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.94 indicates QBTS has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a cash-secured put on QBTS?
A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.
Current QBTS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $20.45, ATM IV 95.84%, IV rank 22.62%, expected move 27.48%. The cash-secured put on QBTS below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 28-day expiry.
Why this cash-secured put structure on QBTS specifically: QBTS IV at 95.84% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling QBTS cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 27.48% (roughly $5.62 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated QBTS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on QBTS should anchor to the underlying notional of $20.45 per share and to the trader's directional view on QBTS stock.
QBTS cash-secured put setup
The QBTS cash-secured put below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With QBTS near $20.45, the first option leg uses a $19.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed QBTS chain at a 28-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 QBTS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $19.50 | $1.66 |
QBTS cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$165.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $165.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$1,783.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $17.85
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.093
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
QBTS cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on QBTS. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | -$1,783.50 |
| $4.53 | -77.8% | -$1,331.45 |
| $9.05 | -55.7% | -$879.40 |
| $13.57 | -33.6% | -$427.35 |
| $18.09 | -11.5% | +$24.70 |
| $22.61 | +10.6% | +$165.50 |
| $27.13 | +32.7% | +$165.50 |
| $31.65 | +54.8% | +$165.50 |
| $36.17 | +76.9% | +$165.50 |
| $40.69 | +99.0% | +$165.50 |
When traders use cash-secured put on QBTS
Cash-secured puts on QBTS earn premium while a trader waits to acquire QBTS stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning QBTS.
QBTS thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for QBTS extends from approximately $14.83 on the downside to $26.07 on the upside. A QBTS cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire QBTS at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current QBTS IV rank near 22.62% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on QBTS at 95.84%. As a Technology name, QBTS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to QBTS-specific events.
QBTS cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. QBTS positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move QBTS alongside the broader basket even when QBTS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on QBTS carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical QBTS earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current QBTS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on QBTS?
- A cash-secured put on QBTS is the cash-secured put strategy applied to QBTS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With QBTS stock trading near $20.45, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed QBTS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are QBTS cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the QBTS cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 95.84%), the computed maximum profit is $165.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,783.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QBTS cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the QBTS cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $17.85 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current QBTS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 27.48%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a cash-secured put on QBTS?
- Cash-secured puts on QBTS earn premium while a trader waits to acquire QBTS stock at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning QBTS.
- How does current QBTS implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- QBTS ATM IV is at 95.84% with IV rank near 22.62%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.