Quantum computing stocks are clawing back after a bruising June and July, and Wall Street is leaning bullish into a potential 2026 "quantum advantage" milestone. Each of the three US-listed pure-plays has ripped higher over the past week, yet analyst price targets still imply meaningful room to run. Ranked by consensus upside from current levels, here is how the trio stacks up heading into August.
1. D-Wave Quantum (QBTS): The Highest-Conviction Upside
D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) tops the list. Shares closed at $21.39 on August 5, while the consensus analyst target sits at $37.05. That is the widest implied upside in the group. The rating distribution is equally lopsided: 1 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 1 Hold, and zero Sell or Strong Sell calls. Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson initiated coverage on August 4 with an Outperform rating and a $40 price target.
The bull case is grounded in commercial traction. Q1 FY2026 bookings hit a record $33.4 million, up roughly 2,000% year over year, anchored by a $20 million Florida Atlantic University system and a $10 million Fortune 100 QCaaS agreement. Remaining performance obligations climbed to $42.4 million, up 563% YoY. Just this week, D-Wave published dual-rail qubit gate research in Nature demonstrating roughly 99.9% fidelity in two-qubit entangling gates with gate times near 500 nanoseconds, and its Nasdaq Verafin financial-crime partnership sent shares up 11% on August 3. QBTS has now rallied 32.2% in the past week.
CEO Alan Baratz framed the quarter this way: "D-Wave’s first quarter performance highlights what sets this company apart: strong execution, expanding commercial adoption, and differentiated technology leadership across both annealing and gate model quantum computing."
Risk to watch: revenue was still only $2.86 million in Q1, down 81% YoY against the tough system-sale comp, and the stock trades at a price-to-sales ratio of 636. Operating cash burn ran roughly $45 million last quarter. Q2 earnings hit before the open today, and any bookings slippage will get punished quickly.
2. Rigetti Computing (RGTI): Government Tailwinds and a Fresh Wedbush Call
Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) slots into second place. The stock last printed $16.78 against a consensus target of $29.65, with 1 Strong Buy, 8 Buy, and 4 Hold ratings across 13 analysts. Wedbush initiated with a $40 price target on August 3, and Benchmark launched coverage with a Buy rating and $25 target the same day.
Rigetti signed a letter of intent for up to $100 million in CHIPS Act funding over three years and joined the NSF-funded TangleLab project with HPE and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. Two July executive orders directing federal deployment of research-grade quantum systems by 2028 position Rigetti as a domestic-supply beneficiary. Q1 FY2026 revenue nearly tripled to $4.40 million, and the balance sheet holds $569 million in cash and investments with no debt. Its 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q system is generally available on Rigetti QCS, Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum, and qBraid, with two-qubit gate fidelities reaching as high as 99.9% on prototypes.
Risk to watch: insiders sold roughly $17.5 million in stock over the past 90 days, TTM revenue is a modest $10.0 million, and Rigetti reports Q2 tonight after the close. A miss against the $5.13 million revenue expectation could unwind this week’s 26.9% rally.
3. IonQ (IONQ): The Revenue Leader With the Tightest Upside
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ | IONQ Price Prediction) is the sector’s revenue leader but carries the narrowest implied upside after yesterday’s post-earnings move. Shares finished at $39.93, versus a consensus target of $68.41. Analyst sentiment is decisively bullish: 1 Strong Buy, 10 Buy, and 2 Hold ratings, with zero Sell calls.
Q2 FY2026, released August 5, was a blowout. Revenue landed at $80.05 million, up 286.8% YoY and beating consensus of $66.42 million by 20.52%. Adjusted EPS came in at -$0.33 versus -$0.60 expected. Management raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $280 million to $290 million, closed the SkyWater Technology acquisition on July 31, and holds $1.24 billion in cash. CEO Niccolo de Masi called it "the strongest quarter in our company’s history."
Risk to watch: IonQ posted a $1.87 billion GAAP net loss driven by $1.6 billion of warrant-related fair value changes, and stock-based compensation totaled $141.8 million in the quarter. With the stock already up 24.8% this past week, much of the near-term catalyst may be priced in.
What to Watch Next
D-Wave offers the widest implied upside and the strongest bookings inflection but the smallest revenue base. Rigetti pairs government funding with a fresh analyst push. IonQ is the operational leader with the least room versus consensus. Two earnings reports today (QBTS pre-market, RGTI after close) will decide whether analyst conviction holds or resets. With betas ranging from 2.02 for Rigetti to 3.30 for IonQ, investors should size positions accordingly.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks