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IBM's Positioning at Forefront of AI, Quantum Computing Remains Underappreciated, Wedbush Says

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International Business Machines (IBM) is future-proofing its business by investing further to advance its leadership in quantum computing infrastructure, and its role at the forefront of artificial intelligence and quantum technology remains "underappreciated" by investors, Wedbush said in a report Thursday.

IBM and Red Hat announced "Project Lightwell," a $5 billion initiative aimed at securing "open-source software" using AI-driven vulnerability detection, patch development and release engineering capabilities. The company plans to dedicate 20,000 engineers to the effort and launch a "security clearinghouse" to help enterprises identify and resolve vulnerabilities at scale, the report noted.

The initiative "was a smart move" that could help enterprises using Red Hat's open-source software defend against rising threats from advanced AI models and critical vulnerabilities, according to the note.

IBM also announced plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years to expand its quantum computing leadership through research and development, manufacturing expansion, partnerships and acquisitions, with the goal of delivering the "first fault-tolerant" quantum computer by 2029, the report highlighted.

Wedbush maintained an outperform rating on IBM with a price target of $320.

Price: $265.36, Change: $+10.16, Percent Change: +3.98%

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