IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 0.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $42.56 and last traded at $44.42. Approximately 8,641,279 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 10,573,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IonQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Up 6.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.68 and a 200 day moving average of $14.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of -58.53 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.22) EPS. Research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $115,735.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 638,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,488,001.76. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,223 shares of company stock valued at $2,286,983. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,420,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,640,000 after purchasing an additional 199,360 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in IonQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,865,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in IonQ by 10.0% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 154,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 14,072 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc engages in the development of general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. It sells access to quantum computers of various qubit capacities. The company makes access to its quantum computers through cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Braket, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, and Google’s Cloud Marketplace, as well as through its cloud service.