Stock Watch: Government Contract Boosts Beyond.com

Shares of online software retailer Beyond.com (Nasdaq: BYND) climbed more than 2.6 percent Thursday, gaining 7/16 to 17-1/8 after the company announced that it has secured a $30 million government contract. For up to three years, Beyond.com will electronically deliver maintain and support Corel software products to all Department of Defense components -- including the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard -- and their employees.

It looks like Beyond.com, which now has signed six deals with the government, certainly has the government's confidence. Earlier this year, Beyond.com and privately held Intellisys Technology Corporation were awarded a 65-month, $120 million contract with the Internal Revenue Service to electronically deliver and maintain Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) software to more than 130,000 IRS computers.