Why IonQ Computing Stock Just Popped
Key Points
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh raised his price target on D-Wave Quantum stock today.
The analyst said nothing about IonQ.
In fact, he cut his price target on IonQ stock two months ago.
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IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) stock jumped 7.3% through 11:45 a.m. ET Monday -- and believe it or not, you can thank an IonQ rival, D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) for that.
More precisely, you can thank D-Wave and the banker who just praised it.
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Mizuho loves D-Wave Quantum stock
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh raised his price target on D-Wave by 20% today, to $35 per share. Rakesh praised D-Wave's plan to build a gate-based quantum computer with 10 logical qubits (LQ) by 2030, then scale to 100 LQ by 2032, while improving error rates. He also liked D-Wave's prediction that quantum could grow into a $450 billion to $850 billion market by 2040, and declared D-Wave a leader in this market.
Rakesh, however, said nothing about IonQ.
Worse, roughly two months ago, Rakesh lowered his price target on IonQ stock to $61 per share, with StreetInsider.com reporting that, while the analyst said IonQ is "gaining traction with multiple players" and improving its own error correction, quantum remains in "early stages."
Is IonQ stock better or worse than D-Wave stock?
When investing in quantum computing stocks, it's important not to get too caught up in the excitement of analyst upgrades and downgrades, price target hikes, and cuts. Wall Street is tracking a moving target in this industry, and Mizuho is right -- it's hard to pick winners so early in the game.
Big picture, the thing to always keep in mind is this: No one on Wall Street expects either IonQ or D-Wave stock to turn a profit as far out as any analysts are willing to make predictions. Whether they ultimately succeed or fail, both these companies will lose money for at least the next five years.
Check your risk tolerance before investing, and be prepared to be very, very patient.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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