Wall Street analysts get paid big bucks to thoroughly research the stocks they cover. They pore over financial statements, study industry trends, and interview corporate executives to project how stocks might perform. After all that effort, though, they can sometimes still get it wrong.
I suspect this might be the case with three quantum artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. Buying these stocks before Wall Street realizes its mistake could be a great contrarian play.
1. Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOG -1.68%) (GOOGL -1.63%) ranks as the world's largest communication services stock based on market cap. It's the fourth-largest stock across all sectors. The company is best known for its Google search engine, YouTube, Android operating system, and other components of the Google ecosystem. However, it's also a leader in quantum computing, with its Google Quantum AI unit focused on building large-scale quantum computers by the end of the decade that can be used in AI and other applications.
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This stock has been sizzling hot since the overall market sell-off in early April that resulted from the Trump administration's tariff moves. However, many analysts expect the momentum to wane. The consensus 12-month price target for Alphabet is below the current share price.
Interestingly, though, 54 of the 65 analysts surveyed by S&P Global in October rated Alphabet stock as a buy or better. I think those ratings are more indicative of the stock's potential than the pessimistic price target.
To be sure, Google Quantum AI is unlikely to significantly impact Alphabet's stock performance over the next 12 months. On the other hand, AI that doesn't rely on quantum computers probably will. I look for a huge AI tailwind to continue driving higher revenue for Google Cloud.
2. IonQ
While quantum computing and quantum AI are mere drops in the bucket for Alphabet, these arenas are everything for IonQ (IONQ 1.26%). The company has achieved several key quantum computing milestones, including improving classification accuracy in large language models (LLMs) using quantum fine-tuning earlier this year.
After a stocky start to 2025, IonQ stock went on a tear beginning in March. The stock has especially skyrocketed over the last month. But analysts seem to think IonQ's sizzle will soon fizzle. The consensus 12-month price target is a double-digit percentage below the current share price.
You might think Wall Street's recommendations would be decidedly bearish for IonQ. However, that isn't the case. Of the eight analysts surveyed by S&P Global this month who cover the stock, six rate it as a buy or a strong buy. The two outliers recommend holding IonQ.
I can understand why some might be concerned about this stock. IonQ isn't profitable yet. Its shares trade at a nosebleed trailing-12-month price-to-sales ratio of 303. But I like the company's technology and its smart acquisitions, especially the addition of Oxford Ionics. This stock could be a massive winner over the long run.
3. Rigetti Computing
Rigetti Computing (RGTI 3.52%) captured investors' attention with its July 2025 announcement that it had cut its two-qubit gate error rate by half. This set the stage for the company to release its Cepheus 1-36Q, the largest multichip quantum computer, for general availability only a few weeks later.
Largely as a result of these developments, Rigetti has been one of the best-performing quantum computing stocks this year. Wall Street doesn't anticipate the good times will keep rolling. The average 12-month price target for the stock is almost 50% below Rigetti's current share price.
Granted, only three analysts surveyed by S&P Global cover Rigetti. But all of them recommend buying the stock despite having price targets lower than the current share price. Importantly, two of the analysts haven't updated their views on Rigetti since August.
Rigetti is in the same boat as IonQ -- unprofitable with an absurdly high price-to-sales multiple. However, the company also stands to benefit as it makes further quantum computing and quantum AI advances.
