IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) stock is climbing higher on Friday after the company announced it secured a $13.4 million contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).
That contract has IonQ offering its trapped ion systems for quantum computing hardware research to the AFRL. It will also see the company developing quantum algorithms and applications for the department.
The new contract for IonQ is the result of the U.S. Government focusing more on quantum-powered attacks from foreign actors. This saw it introduce several initiatives to invest in quantum computing technology, which is where today’s contract comes from.
IONQ Reacts Positively to the Contract
Peter Chapman, CEO of IonQ, said the following in a press release:
Quantum computing is the key that we believe will unlock unforeseen efficiencies and strength in the development and deployment of U.S. defense technologies. This area of research holds incredibly exciting promise, and we’re proud to be among the first to partner with the AFRL to further American leadership in this important space.
News of the AFRL contract has shares of IONQ stock seeing heavy trading today. As of this writing, more than 3 million shares of the company’s stock have changed hands. That’s already above its daily average trading volume of 3.1 million shares.
IONQ stock is up 8.4% as of Friday morning. The stock is down 70.4% since the start of the year.
Investors seeking out more recent stock market news are in luck!
We’ve got all of the hottest stock market news traders need to know about for Friday! Among that is what has shares of Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Nike (NYSE:NKE), and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMLX) stock moving today. You can find out all about this at the following links!
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On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
