IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $45.00. The stock had previously closed at $29.93, but opened at $28.04. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. IonQ shares last traded at $25.51, with a volume of 8,709,556 shares.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. DA Davidson raised IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $290,661.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock worth $1,314,652. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in IonQ by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after acquiring an additional 135,851 shares during the period. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in IonQ in the third quarter worth approximately $3,749,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in IonQ by 34.2% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after buying an additional 111,435 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,631,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 196.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 38,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 25,502 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IonQ Trading Down 12.8 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.63. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.25 and a beta of 2.41.

IonQ Company Profile

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.