IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 1.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) traded up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.88 and last traded at $52.41. 18,825,090 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 24,295,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, 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 objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.18.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of -9.80 and a beta of 2.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.74.

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

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.81 per share, with a total value of $109,620.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,496.53. The trade was a 45.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total value of $4,689,000.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 432,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,285,364.24. This trade represents a 18.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in IonQ by 28.4% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank raised its position in shares of IonQ by 112.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in IonQ by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is 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.