NEW YORK : Shares of some quantum computing companies rallied on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session and bucking the broader market’s trend after D-Wave Quantum forecast stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue.
D-Wave Quantum shares were last up 15 per cent at $6.71 after the company forecast Thursday its current-quarter would be above analysts’ expectations.
The stock ended up about 8 per cent on Wednesday after the company published a peer-reviewed paper in Science that said its quantum computer outperformed one of the world’s most powerful classical supercomputers.
Drawing on quantum mechanics, quantum computers are faster and more efficient than classical computers partly due to their superior ability to perform operations in parallel, predict the results of multiple paths simultaneously and store vast amounts of data.
Shares of Quantum Corp were up 26 per cent and on track for its biggest daily percentage gain since mid-February. The stock was up about 10 per cent on Wednesday.
Shares of Quantum Computing Inc were up 2 per cent, while the broader market was sharply lower, with the Nasdaq composite down more than 2 per cent in afternoon trading.
“If AI (artificial intelligence) is in its infancy, then quantum is in its embryonic stage… It’s the wild west, and it’s just going to grow. It’s the obsession right now on Wall Street,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Microsoft last month launched a new quantum chip that heated up the debate over the technology.
Dollarhide said he invests in the field through the Defiance Quantum exchange-traded fund. It was down 0.8 per cent on Thursday.
While some shares in the space were rallying Thursday, IonQ’s stock was down 5.3 per cent at $20.68 after Kerrisdale Capital said it has taken short position in the stock.
IonQ’s stock is down roughly 50 per cent for the year to date after rising more than 200 per cent in 2024.
