Stock Market Today, April 15: IonQ Surges Over 20% on String of Good News
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ), 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 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 0.80% to 7,023, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) added 1.59% to finish at 24,016. Among quantum computing peers, Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) gained 13.28% to close at $19.11, and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) 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 (NASDAQ:NVDA) 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.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $573,160!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,204,712!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,002% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 195% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of April 15, 2026.
Emma Newbery has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
