NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2026, 12:45 EST — Market closed
- A filing revealed Morgan Stanley has dropped below the 5% ownership mark in IonQ.
- TD Cowen downgraded Rigetti to “hold,” citing concerns about both valuation and funding risk.
- D-Wave and IonQ will report in late February; guidance is expected to drive trading direction.
Quantum computing names face two new headaches going into the next U.S. session: a major investor’s stake disclosure hit IonQ, while Rigetti’s latest downgrade dragged financing risks back into the spotlight.
Timing’s key here. The sector’s acting more like a barometer for sentiment: quick cash flows in, just as quick it flows back out. Traders are jumping on slender catalysts, betting big on revenue projections that are way out there. With earnings season in play, even minor tweaks to guidance have a habit of rattling prices.
This hits now, with the U.S. market just back from the weekend and staring at a holiday-shortened stretch—only a handful of sessions left for traders to get set ahead of a wave of late-February updates from the top names.
IonQ finished Friday up 8.8% at $34.11. Rigetti jumped 7.2% to close at $16.09. D-Wave climbed 4.6%, settling at $19.67, while Quantum Computing Inc tacked on 3.6% to $8.47.
Morgan Stanley and its investment management arm disclosed in a Thursday Schedule 13G/A that their stakes in IonQ have dropped below the key 5% mark, now sitting at 4.8% and 4.7%. The filing states they’ve “ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent” of IonQ’s common shares. SEC
Rigetti shares moved after TD Cowen’s Krish Sankar cut his rating to hold from buy, flagging a “premium valuation” compared to competitors. Sankar also cautioned the company might have to raise new funds for its 200mm fab, or chip fabrication plant—a move that could mean dilution if more shares hit the market. TipRanks
It’s a sector crowded with firms still in the early stages, pushing first-generation systems and services and talking up bigger sales down the line. Investors zero in on bookings, watch cash burn closely, and look for signs that customers are coming back — markers that could stretch the balance sheet or push management to tap markets for fresh capital.
D-Wave announced Thursday it plans to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results ahead of the opening bell on Feb. 26. The conference call—scheduled for 8 a.m. Eastern—will feature CEO Alan Baratz alongside CFO John Markovich.
IonQ is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 numbers on Feb. 25 after the bell. A conference call kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
The group faces a clear risk here. If customer ramp projections weaken, or if hardware roadmap spending ticks up, dilution worries can resurface—dragging valuations down. And it doesn’t just stop at one name; the entire basket can take a hit, regardless of who actually reported.
The immediate stop for traders actually lands ahead of those calls. With U.S. exchanges shuttered Monday for Washington’s Birthday, action resumes Tuesday, but the spotlight swings fast to IonQ on Feb. 25, then D-Wave on Feb. 26.
