Quantum Computing Stocks Tick Up as Microsoft Reveals New Chip
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) just unveiled a breakthrough in quantum computing, introducing a new chip built with what it calls a topological superconductoran entirely new state of matter that's neither solid, liquid, nor gas.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with MSFT.
Named Majorana 1, the chip features a topological core architecture that Microsoft says could accelerate industrial-scale quantum computing within years rather than decades. The goal? To create a million-qubit chip small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
We took a step back and said, OK, let's invent the transistor for the quantum age,' said Chetan Nayak, Microsoft technical fellow. What properties does it need to have? That's how we got herethe right combination of materials, quality, and architecture that enables a new kind of qubit.
Microsoft emphasized that scalability is key to solving real-world quantum problems, and this chip provides a clear path to a million qubitssomething Nayak says is essential to avoid hitting a technological wall.
Following the announcement, quantum computing stocks bounced up, with companies in the sector seeing increased investor interest. Putting things into perspective, IONQ (NYSE:IONQ) stock rose to $34.53, gaining 1.74% as of 12:54 ET. Similarly, Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) stock surged 3.43% at the same time. Meanwhile, Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) stock jumped 6.50% to $7.86 just a few minutes later, as of 13:00 ET.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is AGNC Investment Worth Buying Today? The Answer May Surprise You.
AGNC Investment is a mortgage REIT. The value of the company is basically the value of its mortgage securities portfolio. The value of AGNC Investment's portfolio has been shrinking for years. 10 stocks we like better than AGNC Investment Corp. › AGNC Investment (NASDAQ: AGNC) has a gigantic 15%+ dividend yield. That lofty yield sounds very enticing, but sometimes things that sound too good to be true are, in fact, too good to be true. Here's why investors need to take a very nuanced view of AGNC Investment and how the company may actually be helping you decide when to buy the stock. Property-owning real estate investment trusts (REITs) buy physical properties and lease them out to tenants. That's what you would do if you owned a rental property, so it's probably fairly easy to wrap your head around the business model. Mortgage REITs like AGNC Investment buy mortgages that have been pooled together into bond-like securities. That's a lot more complex and you probably couldn't mimic that in your own investment life. Everything from interest rates to mortgage repayment rates can impact the value of mortgage securities. So even tracking what is going on within AGNC Investment's portfolio, or within any mortgage REIT, would be hard for most investors. Adding to the complexity is that mortgage securities trade all day long, so the portfolio's characteristics can change fairly quickly. This is not an investment for conservative income investors. That fact is highlighted by the steady downtrend in the dividend over the last decade or so, as the chart below highlights. Not surprisingly, the price of the stock has trailed the falling dividend. That said, AGNC Investment's value is basically the value of its portfolio of mortgage securities. In that way it is kind of similar to a mutual fund. And, like a mutual fund, AGNC Investment reports the value of its portfolio on a per-share basis. It calls this number tangible net book value per share. It only reports that number quarterly, but it is an important figure to monitor. At the end of the first quarter of 2025 AGNC Investment's tangible net book value per share was $8.25. At the end of the first quarter of 2022 it was $13.12. Tangible net book value per share can rise and fall fairly dramatically at times, depending on the market environment. Over the past year, for example, this metric has risen and fallen by 5% between quarters multiple times. It is, at best, a rough gauge for investors to monitor between quarters. But the really interesting thing here is that AGNC Investment's stock price often trades above tangible net book value per share. Sometimes dramatically above the number -- the 52-week high is $10.85 even though the reported tangible net book value per share never rose above $8.84 in any of the last four quarters. This is great news for shareholders, since AGNC Investment frequently sells new shares to the public to raise additional capital. Every penny above tangible net book value that a new buyer pays is tantamount to giving current shareholders free money. Management even explains this fact when it discusses stock sales, saying things like the company "opportunistically" raised money "at a considerable premium to tangible net book value" and that this brings "meaningful book value accretion to our common stockholders." The takeaway here is pretty clear. Nobody should pay more than tangible net book value per share for AGNC Investment unless they believe that number is going to be headed sharply higher. But sometimes AGNC Investment's share price dips below that figure, with the 52-week low coming in at $7.85. The company would likely not be raising capital at that price, given that it would destroy value for current shareholders. However, if you buy the stock on the open market below book value you are increasing the chances that you are getting a good deal on the stock. The problem with this discussion is that it doesn't address the dividend or the dividend yield. That's because the company's focus isn't income, it is total return. The dividend is a part of total return, but total return assumes the dividend is reinvested. But a key part of total return is also the price you pay for the investment. If you bought at the 52-week high price of $10.85 per share, your total return would be terrible here even with the huge dividend yield. However, if you kept a close eye on tangible book value per share and only bought when the stock price was at or below the last reported figure, your total return would likely still be positive, helped along by that lofty yield. Before you buy stock in AGNC Investment Corp., consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and AGNC Investment Corp. wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is AGNC Investment Worth Buying Today? The Answer May Surprise You. was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
CNET
43 minutes ago
- CNET
I Played With the Xbox ROG Ally, the Upcoming Xbox Handheld
Microsoft revealed its long-rumored Xbox handheld console running Windows 11 during the Xbox Games Showcase -- two models called the Xbox ROG Ally and Xbox ROG Ally X -- and I spent a short time playing around with one soon after. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures or videos of the demo, since the hardware we got to test wasn't final. That became evident when our designated guide had HDMI connection issues with the unit. I was able to play around with the Xbox full- screen experience, the various settings menus and played the beginning minutes of Gears of War Reloaded, which comes out this summer. Watch this: Everything Announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in 16 Minutes 16:18 The device is quite comfortable to hold, with slightly textured grips. The face buttons, triggers, and analog sticks all felt familiar, very similar to what I'm used to on an Xbox controller. What's really exciting is that you can download your games, remote play from your Xbox, or stream from the cloud, making this more useful than PlayStation's Portal, which can only stream and play remotely. That's one of the major benefits of being inside Xbox's ecosystem: You can play a game on any of its devices, regardless of where you bought it, whether that be Xbox consoles, PC, cloud or this new handheld. This more open-platform approach makes the Xbox Ally closer in spirit to a Steam Deck compared to a Nintendo Switch, which can only run Nintendo games. When it ships -- expected in time for the winter holidays -- you'll be able to navigate via a full-screen Xbox app, which combines your Xbox game library with installed games from several other marketplaces into a single Xbox experience. The company specifically mentioned Xbox, Game Pass, (owned by Microsoft), and "other leading PC storefronts," which I'm hoping includes Steam. Much like on an Xbox, each game has icons depicting which platform they're from. In my demo, the only example of a different storefront was Hearthstone, which had a icon. Microsoft/Screenshot by CNET The Xbox Ally consoles use the Game Bar, and if you've used the Xbox app on PC then you'll find it familiar. In fact, pressing the new Xbox button opens an almost identical version of the guide when playing Xbox games on PC. However, there's also a new Command Center tab on the far left to adjust settings for power consumption and performance, similar to what we've seen on Steam Deck. In Game Bar you can quickly jump to the home screen, your library, launch games, open apps, chat with friends, adjust settings and more. And this Game Bar works alongside Asus's Armoury Crate overlay. This is a little worrisome, as Armoury Crate has usually felt more like unnecessary bloatware, but when we get to test the device later this year we'll see if Asus has stripped it down to the relevant functions rather than just added more on top. Since it's a Windows 11 device, you'll also be able to launch and use apps like Discord and Twitch and access game mods. The Xbox Ally boots directly into the "Xbox full screen experience" similar to how a Steam Deck launches into Big Picture mode. The full-screen experience is optimized specifically for handheld gaming, and Xbox told me the device minimizes background activity and allocates more system resources to gameplay like Game Mode does on Windows. This means more memory and potentially higher framerates for your games. Xbox The ROG Ally and Ally X have been out for a bit now, but the Xbox models have some unique features. In addition to the Xbox button, the Xbox ROG Ally also has larger, contoured grips. The previous ROG Ally is more rectangular; the Xbox Ally is closer to the design of the PlayStation Portal, with dedicated, slightly separated hand grips that mimic the look and feel of a standard game controller. They also have upgraded components over the Asus versions. The handheld comes in two options, a white Xbox Ally and the more powerful Xbox Ally X which comes in black. The lower-end Ally is powered by a AMD Ryzen Z2A processor, comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage, weighs 23.6 oz/670g, and has a 60Wh battery. The Ally X has a AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, weighs a bit more at 25.2 oz/715g, and has a 80Wh battery. Both models are equipped with a 7-inch,120Hz 1080p screen, the same as on the original Asus versions of the devices. They also have RGB lights surrounding the analog sticks, something I hope I'll be able to turn off when I spend some real time playing on the device. The Ally X did feel on the heavier side, but then again the recently released Switch 2 and my Steam Deck OLED are also pretty heavy so I think that's just what handhelds weigh these days. Xbox hasn't yet revealed the pricing or release date, aside from "this holiday."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Hims & Hers Stock Is Soaring Again. But Should You Buy the Stock?
Hims & Hers stock is on the upswing after the company secured a weight-loss drug partnership. Hims & Hers is acquiring its way into Europe and wants to build more personalized drugs for its telehealth customers. Shares have soared, but still have a ton of potential for patient long-term shareholders. 10 stocks we like better than Hims & Hers Health › Many companies have failed to disrupt the complicated U.S. healthcare market. Hims & Hers (NYSE: HIMS) may finally be succeeding in cracking the code. The online telehealth platform focuses on circumventing the insurance market; its business of selling affordable medications directly to individuals is growing like a weed, and expects to generate $6.5 billion in revenue by 2030. It has had a tumultuous start to 2025, as Hims & Hers waged a battle to sell new weight loss medications on its online marketplace. Now, with momentum back on its side, the stock is up 118% year to date and 446% in the last five years. Let's take a deeper look at this company, and see whether you might want to buy Hims & Hers stock for your portfolio now. Hims & Hers' model is simple. It has two separate web platforms -- Hims for men and Hers for women -- that sell medications and deliver to customers' front doors. It began with sexual health, but has moved into dermatology, hair loss, mental health, and now weight loss medications. A key to its success has been avoiding the insurance market with products that don't break the bank. Customers loathe dealing with health insurers in the United States, and sometimes would rather not use insurance at all. Plus, some of these products aren't covered by insurance. This strategy has helped the company close in on over $2 billion in projected revenue in 2025. To keep up this impressive growth, Hims & Hers wants to offer weight loss medications, which have been a blockbuster set of drugs for the pharmaceutical market. For a while the popularity of these drugs, such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, left them in short supply; that allowed third parties such as Hims & Hers to produce them as a compounding pharmacy and sell them at much cheaper prices. This ended up generating $200 million of Hims & Hers' $1.4 billion in 2024 revenue. But with the shortage of Wegovy over and the compounding pharmacy exception ended, the company's weight-loss business was at a major turning point. Luckily, at the end of April Hims & Hers announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk that seems to resolve this issue: It gives Hims & Hers the ability to sell Wegovy directly on its platform. Hims & Hers is not an exclusive supplier of the drug -- or any drugs on its marketplaces, to be fair -- but it hopes to use its subscription business model, marketing expertise, and simplified user proposition to drive sales for Novo Nordisk in the huge obesity-care market. Besides weight loss drugs, Hims & Hers has more ambitions to reach its goal of $6.5 billion in revenue by 2030. Just recently, the company announced its intent to acquire European competitor Zava so it could expand its telehealth service to Europe. The acquisition will add a platform with 1.3 million active customers in the U.K., Germany, France, and Ireland. It makes sense that Hims & Hers can supercharge growth for the platform with its plethora of medications offered to customers, keen marketing skills, and subscription-based selling model. Over the long run, Hims & Hers aims to make healthcare for its customers more personalized. This includes unique drug combinations, its own outsourcing facility, and at-home testing capabilities. Details remain sparse, but the vision is clear: disrupting more and more of the trillions of dollars spent on healthcare by building a business that people actually enjoy interacting with. This is why 2.4 million active customers use Hims & Hers today. A revenue goal of $6.5 billion seems well within reach by 2030. Hims & Hers is only at 2.4 million active customers, and there are tens of millions of people in the United States alone who could start using or switch to one of its telehealth platforms. Add on the Zava acquisition in Europe, and the runway for growth gets even larger. The company has an impressive gross profit margin of 77%, which should lead to high levels of profitability at scale. On $6.5 billion in future revenue, it could very well post a net profit margin of over 20%, and achieve $1.5 billion in bottom-line profits and free cash flow. A 20% profit margin is easily achievable because of its high gross margins and the fact it currently spends 40% of revenue on marketing today, a figure that has come down over time and should come down even more as Hims & Hers keeps scaling. However, Hims & Hers has played fast and loose with laws and regulations in the past. It sold weight loss drugs when the legality of doing so was unclear, and although that dispute seems to have been resolved, management could easily start playing with fire again and burn its reputation as a trusted provider of medications. Otherwise, this looks like a fantastic growth stock that just doubled its addressable market with the Zava acquisition. Today, Hims & Hers has a market cap of $12.3 billion. You might think it's overvalued because of the stock's recent run-up in price, but the numbers show that patient investors could be rewarded by holding for the long term. A $12.3 billion market cap is only around 8 times my 2030 earnings estimate of $1.5 billion, which would be a dirt cheap price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for a fast-growing company compared to the current market cap. Most likely, the stock will be valued at a higher multiple than 8, meaning that the stock will be higher in five years. It doesn't come without risks, but if you're a growth investor, you might love Hims & Hers stock for its long-term potential. Before you buy stock in Hims & Hers Health, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Hims & Hers Health wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hims & Hers Health. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Hims & Hers Stock Is Soaring Again. But Should You Buy the Stock? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
