IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 15% – Still a Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) rose 15% on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.64 and last traded at $25.60. Approximately 15,422,428 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 14,662,720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

IonQ Trading Up 15.9 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.55. The stock has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of -31.73 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William F. Scannell bought 93,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. This trade represents a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $217,491.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,539,550.70. The trade was a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter worth $316,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 362,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,146,000 after purchasing an additional 82,499 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth $7,081,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors 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.