Quantum Stocks Fall Tuesday as Rates Force Rotation: IonQ Down 6%, D-Wave Drops 6%, Rigetti Falls 5%

Quantum computing stocks are getting hit hard Tuesday as a spike in long-dated Treasury yields forces a broad rotation out of speculative technology stocks. Near the close, IonQ (NYSE:IONQ | IONQ Price Prediction) is down about 6% at roughly $44, D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) is off about 6.4% at roughly $20, and Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) is down about 5% at roughly $18.

Rates Force a Rotation Out of Long-Duration Names

Today’s move is rate-driven. The trigger is the bond market. The 30-year Treasury hit a 19-year high today, and the 10-year yield sits at 4.68%, near recent highs and up roughly 3% from a month ago. Quantum computing names are among the purest long-duration assets trading on U.S. exchanges.

These are pre-revenue or minimally revenue-generating businesses whose valuations rest almost entirely on cash flows that may not arrive for years, and in some cases a decade or more. When the long end of the curve moves higher, the present value of those distant cash flows falls the hardest. That is the primary reason behind today’s disproportionate selling in the group.

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