IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares fell 5.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $42.16 and last traded at $43.2870. 21,994,726 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 20,291,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.80.

Key Stories Impacting IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IonQ is pushing a full‑stack quantum platform via new acquisitions that expand its hardware, software and systems capabilities — a strategic move that supports longer‑term revenue diversification and positioning in quantum computing. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is acquiring Seed Innovations, a Colorado software firm, to bolster its software stack shortly after announcing a related $1.8B semiconductor deal — an execution step investors may view as building product depth and customer solutions. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reiterated a Buy rating on IonQ, signaling continued institutional confidence in the company’s long‑term thesis and growth prospects. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities also reaffirmed a Buy rating, which may support investor sentiment despite near‑term volatility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundamentals remain mixed: revenue has surged year‑over‑year, but IonQ reported a large EPS miss last quarter and remains unprofitable — creating near‑term uncertainty while the company invests in platform expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: recent trading shows a notable intraday decline and above‑average volume, indicating investors are selling into the news or taking profits after the stock’s prior run; this weakness was highlighted in coverage noting a >5% drop on a recent session. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.91.

IonQ Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.55 and a 200-day moving average of $51.36. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.46 and a beta of 2.63.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $26.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. IonQ’s revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,496.53. This trade represents a 45.32% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,992,000 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in IonQ by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420,037 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,767,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,317,058 shares in the last quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP grew its position in IonQ by 286.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP now owns 1,937,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,043,878 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IonQ Company Profile

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.