(Bloomberg) -- Alphabet Inc. shares posted their biggest one-day gain since April as analysts applauded the Google parent’s announcement Monday of a major development in quantum computing through the use of its Willow quantum chip.
The stock gained 5.6% and closed at the highest since July. Alphabet has lagged behind most of the Magnificent 7, but Tuesday’s surge added to a catchup rally that has boosted the shares almost 25% off a September low.
The company’s quantum computer needs just five minutes to solve a problem that would take supercomputers around 10 septillion years, Alphabet announced Monday, though it did not disclose any actual uses for all that theoretical power.
That didn’t stop analysts from taking a bullish view of the development, with many singling out Willow as a potential long-term catalyst.
“While quantum is still years from broad commercial adoption,” the breakthrough “reinforces Google’s technology leadership,” wrote Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Baird who has an outperform rating on the stock. “Willow marks an important step toward the eventual commercialization of quantum computing — something that could have significant implications for many industries, as well as data and national security.”
Bloomberg Intelligence wrote that quantum advancements are “likely to aid with both AI training and inferencing” at Alphabet, while the company’s chip advantage is “likely to expand versus other large tech companies.”
Other quantum-related stocks also moved in the wake of Alphabet’s announcement. Rigetti Computing Inc. jumped 45% on Tuesday while D-Wave Quantum Inc. rose as much as 16% before paring much of that advance; it closed up 0.7%. IonQ Inc. fell 3.7%.
The group has been on a tear of late. IonQ is up about 400% off a September low, while D-Wave is up nearly 500%. Rigetti has soared more than 840% off a September low of its own.
--With assistance from Elena Popina.
(Updates to market close.)
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