FILE PHOTO: A D-Wave 2X quantum computer is pictured during a media tour of the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (QuAIL) at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, December 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - 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% at $6.71 after the company forecast Thursday its current-quarter would be above analysts' expectations.
The stock ended up about 8% 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% and on track for its biggest daily percentage gain since mid-February. The stock was up about 10% on Wednesday.
Shares of Quantum Computing Inc were up 2%, while the broader market was sharply lower, with the Nasdaq composite down more than 2% 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% on Thursday.
While some shares in the space were rallying Thursday, IonQ's stock was down 5.3% at $20.68 after Kerrisdale Capital said it has taken short position in the stock.
IonQ's stock is down roughly 50% for the year to date after rising more than 200% in 2024.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Lance Tupper; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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