IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) rose 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $48.72 and last traded at $46.39. Approximately 16,051,577 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 24,165,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark increased their target price 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. DA Davidson upped their price target on IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on IonQ from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research upgraded IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.88. The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.67 and a beta of 2.62.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 1,836.32% and a negative return on equity of 127.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,127,124.60. This represents a 24.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total transaction of $4,689,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 432,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,285,364.24. The trade was a 18.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of IonQ by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,354,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,805,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587,260 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in IonQ in the second quarter worth approximately $114,767,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in IonQ by 648.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,674,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,917,000 after buying an additional 2,317,058 shares during the last quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP raised its position in IonQ by 286.1% during the third quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP now owns 1,937,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in IonQ by 19.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,299,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,878 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.