Jefferies starts coverage on quantum computing cos, bullish on D-Wave and IonQ

** Shares of quantum computing cos D-Wave Quantum QBTS, IonQ IONQ are marginally up, and Rigetti RGTI slightly down in premarket

** Jefferies initiates coverage on QBTS and IONQ with "buy" ratings and PT $45 and $100, respectively, and RGTI with "hold"; PT $30

** Brokerage says QBTS is supported by ecosystem growth, a two-pronged roadmap, a full-stack platform, and strong enterprise workload stickiness

** For IONQ, brokerage says co benefits from ecosystem growth, trapped-ion technology advantages, a fault-tolerant roadmap, expansion into networking and sensing, and strong government/enterprise partnerships

** RGTI has a balanced outlook—industry tailwinds and chiplet scalability versus execution challenges, competitive pressure, and heavy reliance on government revenue - Jefferies

** As of last close, QBTS, IONQ, and RGTI are up nearly 183%, 10.3%, and 54.2%, respectively, YTD