A fresh note from Jefferies pointed to growing confidence in the company's trajectory, according to TheFly.

  • Jefferies maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on IonQ after the company's quarterly results, saying the report reinforced its confidence in the quantum computing firm's long-term growth story.
  • The firm said the quarter demonstrated building revenue momentum and continued platform expansion, adding that it came away from the results with higher conviction in the stock.
  • Jefferies also identified IonQ's September Investor Day as the next major catalyst, which could offer investors greater visibility into the company's strategy and growth trajectory.

Quantum computing stocks climbed in Thursday’s pre-market session, with IonQ Inc. (IONQ) leading the charts with a 9% surge, while D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) and Infleqtion Inc. (INFQ) rose 5% and 4%, respectively.

While IonQ reported an earnings miss after Wednesday's closing bell, Wall Street appeared more interested in what could drive the next leg of the stock's rally. A fresh note from Jefferies pointed to growing confidence in the company's trajectory, according to TheFly.

IONQ and QBTS were among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing.

Why Jefferies Is Optimistic On IONQ Despite A Mixed Q2

Jefferies maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on IonQ after the company's quarterly results, saying the report reinforced its confidence in the quantum computing firm's long-term growth story.

The firm said the quarter demonstrated building revenue momentum and continued platform expansion, adding that it came away from the results with higher conviction in the stock.

Jefferies also identified IonQ's September Investor Day as the next major catalyst, which could offer investors greater visibility into the company's strategy and growth trajectory. IonQ’s Investor Day is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2026.

The firm, however, lowered its price target to $75 from $85. The new price target implies an upside potential of 88% from Wednesday’s closing price. According to Koyfin data, the average 12-month price target on IonQ shares is $68.41. Of the 13 analysts covering the stock, 11 have a ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’ recommendation, while two analysts have a ‘Hold’ rating.

IONQ Lands Two Government Contracts

Beyond its earnings, IonQ announced two U.S. government contract wins on Thursday that further expanded its presence in the national security and defense technology markets.

The company said its space division, Capella, secured a contract under the National Reconnaissance Office's (NRO) Radar Commercial Augmentation (RCA) program to provide commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and data services for U.S. national security missions.

Separately, IonQ announced a $28 million contract extension under DARPA's “It's About Time” program to accelerate production of its Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks. The award builds on IonQ's 2025 acquisition of Vector Atomic and marks another step in commercializing its quantum sensing and timing technologies for defense customers.

IONQ’s Q2 At A Glance

IonQ reported a loss of $0.33 per share on revenue of $80.1 million, while Wall Street expected a loss of $0.3 per share on revenue of $66.4 million, according to Fiscal.ai data.

The company’s Q2 revenue surged 287% year-on-year, making the quarter the strongest in IonQ’s history. “The successful close of our SkyWater and Nexus acquisitions extends IonQ’s full-stack quantum platform and merchant supplier leadership to the U.S. and allied ecosystem,” said IonQ CEO Niccolo de Masi.

IonQ also pointed to new partnerships with Anduril and Sandia National Laboratories, progress toward its 256-qubit quantum computer, and recent White House executive orders supporting quantum technologies as additional tailwinds for its long-term growth strategy.

What Retail Traders Think Of IONQ Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around IonQ trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels.

One user believes that IonQ’s Q2 results, U.S. government contract awards at the end of this month, and the September Investor Day could give the stock a boost.

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IONQ stock is down 11% year-to-date and 5% over the past 12 months. The Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is up 23% over the past 12 months, while the Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (VB) is up 26%.

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