IonQ‘s (NYSE:IONQ | IONQ Price Prediction) shares are up 10% in early Thursday trading, while D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) stock is spiking 25% higher. Moreover, Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) stock is rising 24% and Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) stock is climbing 14%. Thus, the pure-play quantum cohort is trading as a single basket once again.
The bounce arrives three days after this same group sold off in unison on Monday, May 18, when IonQ fell 8%, D-Wave dropped 9%, Rigetti slid 10%, and Quantum Computing also lost 10%. Today’s gain magnitudes mirror that pullback pattern almost perfectly. The most damaged names are bouncing the hardest.
The macro backdrop is supportive. The VIX is sitting at 17.44, well inside the normal range and down from a March peak of 31.05. That kind of de-risking tends to pull capital back into high-beta, narrative-driven names like the quantum complex.
The Dispersion Tells the Story
IonQ’s smaller bounce is the editorial signal. Heading into today, IONQ stock was the only one of the four in positive year-to-date (YTD) territory at +17%, with a one-year gain of 49%. There’s less mean-reversion room when the chart hasn’t been broken.
By contrast, QBTS stock entered Thursday down 26.2% year to date, and RGTI stock was down 23.8% YTD. Quantum Computing stock sat at -6.8% YTD. The deeper the discount, the harder the snapback, which is how sentiment-driven baskets typically behave after a flush.
There’s no single, named catalyst behind today’s move. Q1 2026 earnings across the group were broadly constructive: IonQ posted revenue of $64.67 million, +755% year over year (YoY), and raised full-year 2026 guidance to $260 million to $270 million. D-Wave’s bookings surged to $33.4 million, Rigetti’s revenue nearly tripled to $4.4 million, and Quantum Computing reported revenue of $3.69 million, up 5,951% YoY.
Why the Basket Trades Together
Each name pursues a distinct qubit technology. IonQ runs trapped-ion systems, D-Wave leans on quantum annealing with a gate-model expansion underway, Rigetti builds superconducting processors, and Quantum Computing focuses on photonic platforms. Yet, the market still treats them as one ticker symbol when sentiment shifts.
The bulls point to AI-quantum convergence, government and defense contracts, and a steady cadence of technical milestones. Polymarket traders are pricing a 0.73 implied probability that the U.S. federal government takes a stake in D-Wave, the highest reading among the quantum names on that board. Reddit sentiment on Rigetti scored 76 (bullish) over the weekend, and insiders at both D-Wave and Rigetti are net buyers.
The bears haven’t gone quiet. Cash burn is heavy across the group, dilution risk is real, and well-resourced firms continue to invest aggressively in quantum computing. Today’s bounce in the quantum basket resets sentiment within a notoriously volatile complex rather than validating the long-term thesis.
What to Watch
D-Wave’s Investor Day on June 1 at the NYSE is the next concrete catalyst for the group. IonQ’s pending SkyWater Technology acquisition is expected to close in Q2 or Q3 2026, and any roadmap or contract news from Rigetti or Quantum Computing could extend the move.
Keep an eye on whether today’s gains in IONQ, QBTS, RGTI, and QUBT hold into the close. A two-day bounce in a beaten-down basket reflects sentiment rather than confirmation. Prudent investors can size their positions accordingly until a company-specific catalyst takes the wheel.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks