Quantum Computing skyrockets on NASA news, peers follow

Dec. 17, 2024 11:27 AM ETQuantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) Stock, IONQ Stock, QBTS Stock, RGTI StockGOOG, GOOGLBy: Brandon Evans, SA News Editor

 Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) catapulted for the second straight trading day following news the company won a contract with NASA to utilize Dirac-3, its entropy quantum optimization machine, to support the space agency's advanced imaging and data processing demands.

Quantum Computing stock skyrocketed 51% by the close of trading on Tuesday. This follows a nearly 70% surge on Monday. It has increased in value by about 150% since Friday and more than 500% since mid-November.

Several other quantum stocks followed suit. D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) surged 16% and Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) soared 32%. IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) increased nearly 5%.

Danil Sereda, Investing Group Leader for Beyond the Wall Investing, believes some of these meteoric rises among quantum computing stocks will be short-term events. The space is highly competitive, and likely only one or two of these companies will survive.

"This fact puts investors in an awkward position if they try to invest in multiple companies without being aware of their particular prospects," Sereda said. "Due to the high technology hurdles and a scarcity of market players, many of these companies will be unable to survive, so it is important for investors not to buy into the entire niche on an ad hoc basis."

"Also, there's a clear gap between their skyrocketing market caps and their factual performance," Sereda added. "For example, IonQ has a market cap of more than $9B in the face of sustained losses, and Rigetti’s value at roughly $2B is in the face of declining revenue. Quantum Computing, likewise, is experiencing a stock price explosion while reporting little revenue and continued losses."

Meanwhile, Seeking Alpha analyst Dilantha De Silva finds IonQ is the best positioned among these stocks for long-term growth.

"Although quantum computing stocks including IonQ are trading at stretched valuation levels on the back of a strong YTD performance, I believe this is just the beginning for these companies from a long-term perspective as we are yet to see the best this technology has to offer," De Silva said. "Google's (GOOG)(GOOGL) recent advancements also suggest a fully-fledged quantum computer is not as distant as we initially thought."