Today’s Change
Current Price
IonQ (IONQ +20.83%), a quantum computing developer, closed Wednesday at $43.25, up 20.95%. The stock jumped after a slew of positive announcements, including a new government contract and a technical breakthrough.
Trading volume reached 85.2 million shares, about 285% above its three-month average of 22.1 million shares. IonQ IPO’d in 2021 and has grown 288% since going public.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.80%) rose 0.80% to 7,023, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +1.59%) added 1.59% to finish at 24,016. Among quantum computing peers, Rigetti Computing (RGTI +13.13%) gained 13.28% to close at $19.11, and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS +22.45%) closed up 22.63% at $20.81, showing broad sector strength.
What this means for investors
IonQ keeps going up. Today’s gains put it up almost 50% in the past week. One major tailwind is news that it secured a contract to support the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in a program that seeks to improve the design and scalability of quantum computing systems.
The company also said it had succeeded in linking two remote quantum systems, which is a major breakthrough. Its announcements come against a backdrop of quantum computing optimism, after Nvidia (NVDA +1.31%) launched a quantum-focused artificial intelligence (AI) model.
IonQ will report its Q1 earnings on May 6, and investors will be watching to see how its recent wins translate into future revenue.
Emma Newbery has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
