IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price was up 3.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.82 and last traded at $54.3420. Approximately 15,975,832 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 24,406,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONQ has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on IonQ in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.00.

IonQ Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.70 and a beta of 2.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.74.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 127.06% and a negative net margin of 1,836.32%.The firm had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul T. Dacier sold 4,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $185,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 114,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,081,757.60. This represents a 3.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 16,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $715,728.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,181,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,444,658.40. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,044 shares of company stock valued at $6,920,244. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 18.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,354,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,314,000 after buying an additional 4,587,260 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in IonQ by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,299,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,423,000 after buying an additional 1,043,878 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in IonQ by 15.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,338,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,422,000 after purchasing an additional 705,301 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in IonQ by 12.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,008,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,992,000 after acquiring an additional 333,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,737,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,327,000 after acquiring an additional 636,482 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.