IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 4.9% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price fell 4.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $37.12 and last traded at $36.67. 5,915,377 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 39,586,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

IonQ Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.92 and a beta of 2.43.

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

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $634,349.01. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. City State Bank purchased a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in IonQ by 1,348.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in IonQ by 406.3% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by 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.