Pasqal, FormFactor and Keysight: Quantum's Quieter Bets
Quantum computing stocks are splitting apart. FormFactor gained 4.42% while IonQ dropped 3.83% and D-Wave slipped, as attention shifts toward suppliers and test equipment.
MarketBeat named Pasqal (PSQL), FormFactor (FORM) and Keysight (KEYS) as lesser-known quantum-linked stocks versus struggling pure plays, with FORM up 4.42% to 114.72 on Sept. 9, 2026 while IonQ fell 3.83% to 38.92.
The quantum computing trade has stopped moving as one block. On Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, with the last trade recorded at 16:28 GMT, the picture inside the group was unusually split: FormFactor (FORM) was up 4.42% at 114.72, while IonQ (IONQ) fell 3.83% to 38.92 and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) slipped 1.25% to 17.45. Pasqal (PSQL) was down 0.99% at 7.96 and Keysight Technologies (KEYS) eased 0.97% to 330.18.
That spread matters because the broad market was mildly lower on the same session. The S&P 500 tracker (SPY) was off 0.56% at $761.64, the Nasdaq 100 fund (QQQ) down 0.47% at $714.96 and the Dow tracker (DIA) down 0.80% at $523.81. In other words, the day's weakness was market-wide and modest; the moves inside the quantum complex were larger and pointed in opposite directions.
Why the group is separating
For most of the quantum trade's short life, the names moved together because they were priced off the same thing: the possibility that a machine using quantum bits — units of computation that can hold combinations of states rather than a simple one or zero — eventually breaks problems classical computers cannot. That is a story about the distant future, and stocks priced on distant futures move together when the narrative moves.
What appears to be happening now is a separation between companies whose value rests almost entirely on that future and companies that sell into the effort today. MarketBeat framed exactly that split, pointing to Pasqal, FormFactor and Keysight as lesser-known alternatives to the pure plays that have struggled.
The single session bears the framing out. FormFactor's advance of 4.42% came on a day when the Nasdaq 100 proxy was down 0.47% — an illustrative gap of roughly 4.9 percentage points between the two on the day. IonQ moved the other way by 3.83%. Both are described as quantum exposure. They are not the same asset.
What each of the three actually sells
The three names carry very different kinds of quantum exposure, and the distinction is worth drawing carefully.
- Pasqal (PSQL) sits closest to the pure plays. At 7.96, with a session range of 7.80 to 8.17, it is the lowest-priced of the five stocks in this comparison, and the least covered. A share price at that level tends to mean the market is treating the company as an option on an outcome rather than a stream of earnings.
- FormFactor (FORM) is a semiconductor test and measurement supplier. Its relevance to quantum is upstream: probe cards and cryogenic test hardware are how chips and quantum devices get characterised before anyone can use them. That business exists whether or not any single quantum architecture wins.
- Keysight Technologies (KEYS) is the instrumentation name of the three, trading at 330.18 after a range of 328.56 to 337.53. Test and measurement equipment is sold to research labs, defence programmes and commercial developers alike. Quantum is one demand line inside a much broader instrument business.
That structural difference explains the different risk profiles. A supplier gets paid during the experiment. A pure play gets paid if the experiment works.
The pure plays are still the reference price
None of this makes IonQ and D-Wave irrelevant — they remain the reference prices for the sector's sentiment. IonQ at 38.92 traded between 38.10 and 39.91 on the session, finishing the observed window near the low end of that band. D-Wave at 17.45 ranged from 16.88 to 17.59. Both are the names retail flows reach for first when quantum headlines appear, and both were lower on a day when a supplier in the same theme rose.
None of this makes IonQ and D-Wave irrelevant — they remain the reference prices for the sector's sentiment.
Investors weighing the group should be honest about what a fall in the pure plays does and does not tell them. It tells them the market's appetite for long-dated, pre-revenue technology has cooled. It does not, by itself, tell them anything about orders for test instruments.
What to watch from here
Three things will determine whether this divergence holds or reverses.
The first is the rate backdrop. Long-duration equities — companies whose expected cash flows sit years out — are the most sensitive to shifts in discount rates, and the pure quantum names are about as long-duration as listed equities get. A broad tape that was lower across all three major benchmarks on Sept. 9 is a reminder that the macro still sets the tone.
The second is disclosure. Suppliers rarely break out quantum revenue as a separate line, because for now it is small inside larger semiconductor and instrument franchises. Any move toward quantifying that exposure would change how the market values FormFactor and Keysight relative to the pure plays — in either direction.
The third is capital. Pasqal's low share price is the market's way of saying it wants evidence before it pays for possibility. Companies at that end of the theme tend to need funding, and the terms they get are set by exactly the sentiment the pure plays' price action reflects.
How to read a divergence like this
A one-day spread is not a trend, and a single session with a 4.42% gain in one name and a 3.83% loss in another proves only that the market is no longer treating the theme as a single bet. That in itself is useful information. When a thematic trade begins to distinguish between the company that builds the machine and the company that tests it, the theme is maturing — and the questions that decide returns move from narrative to revenue.
All prices cited are intraday as of the last trade at 16:28 GMT on Sept. 9, 2026, and the market was open at the time.
Key facts
- FORM (FormFactor): 114.72, +4.42% as of 16:28 GMT Sept. 9, 2026
- KEYS (Keysight): 330.18, -0.97% as of 16:28 GMT Sept. 9, 2026
- PSQL (Pasqal): 7.96, -0.99%; day range 7.80–8.17
- Pure plays: IONQ 38.92 (-3.83%); QBTS 17.45 (-1.25%)
Frequently asked questions
Which three quantum-linked stocks were highlighted?
Pasqal (PSQL), FormFactor (FORM) and Keysight Technologies (KEYS). MarketBeat presented them as lesser-known alternatives to better-known pure plays such as D-Wave Quantum and IonQ, both of which have struggled. The framing rests on the idea that quantum stocks are no longer trading as a single, uniform group.
How did the five stocks trade on Sept. 9, 2026?
As of the last trade at 16:28 GMT, FormFactor was up 4.42% at 114.72, Keysight down 0.97% at 330.18, Pasqal down 0.99% at 7.96, D-Wave down 1.25% at 17.45 and IonQ down 3.83% at 38.92. The market was open and these were live intraday prices.
Why is FormFactor considered a quantum play?
FormFactor supplies semiconductor test and measurement hardware, including probe cards and cryogenic test equipment used to characterise chips and quantum devices. Its exposure is upstream: it sells into the development effort regardless of which quantum architecture ultimately succeeds, which is a different risk profile from a company building the computers.
What does Keysight's role in quantum look like?
Keysight Technologies sells test and measurement instruments to research laboratories, defence programmes and commercial developers. Quantum research is one demand line inside a considerably broader instrumentation business, so the company's results are not determined by quantum computing alone. It traded at 330.18 on Sept. 9, with a session range of 328.56 to 337.53.
How did the broad market perform the same day?
All three major benchmark trackers were modestly lower. The S&P 500 fund SPY was down 0.56% at $761.64, the Nasdaq 100 fund QQQ down 0.47% at $714.96 and the Dow tracker DIA down 0.80% at $523.81. The weakness was market-wide, which makes the divergence inside the quantum group more notable.
What should investors watch next in the quantum trade?
Three things: the interest-rate backdrop, because pre-revenue companies with cash flows far in the future are the most rate-sensitive; whether suppliers begin disclosing quantum-specific revenue, which would change relative valuations; and funding conditions for the smaller pure plays, whose terms depend on the same sentiment reflected in their share prices.
Sources
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