RGTI and IONQ: Needham Boosts Price Targets on Two Key Quantum Stocks
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For Rigetti stock, the five-star analyst raised the price target to $18 from $15, implying 27% upside potential. For IonQ stock, he lifted the price target to $60 from $50, which implies 57% upside potential.
Why Is Needham Bullish on These Stocks?
In his latest note, Bolton said that new policy moves in Washington may boost prospects for companies like Rigetti and IonQ. He pointed to the Department of Energy's Quantum Leadership Act of 2025, a bill now being looked at in Congress. This bill would set aside more than $2.5 billion over five years to grow the Department of Energy's (DOE's) work in quantum research.
Bolton believes that if the bill becomes law, it would lead to a sharp rise in U.S. government spending on quantum tech, giving a clear boost to firms like Rigetti and IonQ.
He also pointed to DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative as another key sign. He sees this as a strong sign that federal agencies are becoming more serious about pushing quantum technologies forward.
With both public and private interest building in quantum computing, he thinks Rigetti and IonQ are in a good spot to grow as support and funding keep building.
We used the TipRanks Stock Comparison Tool to determine which stock is more favored by analysts. Currently, Wall Street has a 'Strong Buy' consensus rating on both stocks, with IONQ offering higher upside potential of 25% over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, RGTI's average share price target of $16.20 implies upside of 14.7% from current levels.
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40 minutes ago
- Forbes
Rigetti Computing Stock Has Soared Over 1,000% In A Year. Is Now The Time To Buy?
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Founded with the mission of making quantum computing accessible and commercially viable, the company focuses on superconducting qubit quantum processors—a leading approach in the race to achieve quantum advantage over classical computers. The company's core innovation lies in its proprietary chiplet architecture, designed to enable scaling multi-chip quantum systems beyond the limitations of single-chip approaches. This technology could prove crucial as the industry moves toward building quantum computers with thousands or millions of qubits, the basic units of quantum information. Rigetti's integrated approach spans from chip fabrication to cloud-based quantum computing services, positioning it as a comprehensive quantum solutions provider. What Drove RGTI Stock's 1,000% Price Rally? Three primary catalysts have fueled Rigetti's extraordinary stock performance: breakthrough technological achievements, strategic government partnerships and evolving market sentiment around quantum computing's commercial potential. Understanding these drivers helps explain both the opportunity and the risks inherent in this volatile stock. The most significant catalyst came in July 2025 when Rigetti announced achieving 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity on its 36-qubit quantum system. This represents a dramatic improvement in quantum computing reliability, as gate fidelity measures how accurately quantum operations can be performed—a critical metric for building useful quantum computers. High fidelity rates are essential for quantum error correction, which enables complex calculations that could eventually surpass classical computers. 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