IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares dropped 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $41.02 and last traded at $41.52. Approximately 8,213,609 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 44,028,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on IONQ shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.81. The firm has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.44 and a beta of 2.43.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $634,349.01. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,985,373.33. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,098 shares of company stock worth $1,720,683 in the last quarter. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 16.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 115,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 16,642 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $126,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of IonQ by 33.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 69,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 17,200 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.