D-Wave, Rigetti and Other Quantum Stocks Are Trending Overnight: Here's Why

Quantum computing stocks moved higher in after-hours trading Tuesday. IonQ Leads IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) surged 12.17% after hours to $45.70, the sector’s biggest mover. In the regular session the stock of the Maryland-based company edged 0.57% higher to $40.74, according to Benzinga Pro data. The company announced the industry’s first end-to-end real-time quantum error correction decoder that runs on a single, standard off-the-shelf CPU. IonQ said the decoder was validated across benchmark circuits simulating 408 logical qubits and more than 31.5 million quantum operations, adding just 0.02% processing overhead. Nicolas Delfosse, IonQ’s quantum research lead and paper co-author, said: “Successfully validating real-time decoding across hundreds of logical qubits and over millions of logical operations is an important milestone.” The announcement came one day after IonQ announced a multiyear hardware agreement with South Korea’s SDT, Inc. Under the deal, IonQ will supply a Superion 256 quantum computer and silicon vacancy quantum memory modules. D-Wave, Rigetti Ride the Momentum D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:QBTS) gained 5.41% after hours to $18.51. In regular trading, the stock of the Palo Alto-based company dipped 0.79% to $17.56, according to Benzinga Pro data. The company this week appointed Bernard Gavgani, former Group Chief Information Officer of BNP Paribas, to its board of directors and cybersecurity committee. D-Wave said Gavgani’s experience in cybersecurity, risk management and large-scale technology transformation would support the company’s long-term strategy. Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) rose 5.63% after hours to $17.45. In regular session, the stock of the Berkeley-based company slipped 0.06% to $16.52, according to Benzinga Pro data. Rigetti recently signed a definitive $100 million funding agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act to accelerate superconducting quantum computing R&D, with the department receiving a minority equity stake in the company as a condition of the award. Xanadu Recovers From a Rough Session Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:XNDU) added 2.58% after hours to $5.93. In regular session, the stock of the Toronto-based company tumbled 21.57% to $5.78, according to Benzinga Pro data. The company announced on Tuesday Tara Deakin as Chief People Officer.Meanwhile, the sharp decline came as Xanadu’s IPO lock-up period expired, potentially allowing previously restricted shareholders to sell additional shares into the market. Analyst Sentiment in Focus Sector optimism was also reportedly bolstered by bullish notes on IonQ, D-Wave and Rigetti ahead of the Sep. 23-25 Quantum World Congress, where the Department of Energy, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and executives from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) are expected to address the shift from quantum research toward commercialization. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo Courtesy: Pete Hansen on Shutterstock.com