IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 1.9% – Still a Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.18 and last traded at $49.26. 17,538,125 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 18,928,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.91.

IonQ Trading Down 4.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of -8.84 and a beta of 2.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.38.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) 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 analyst estimates of $26.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.81 per share, for a total transaction of $109,620.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,413 shares in the company, valued at $351,496.53. This trade represents a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive directly owned 432,616 shares in the company, valued at $20,285,364.24. The trade was a 18.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,992,000 in the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in IonQ by 119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 700.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 485.7% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 112.5% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 3,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.