Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes $4.20 Million Position in IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 78,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,195,000. IonQ comprises about 1.0% of Rakuten Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in IonQ in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,112,945,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,343,000 after buying an additional 5,420,037 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth $199,753,000. Marex Group plc lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 419.1% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,083,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,663,230 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IONQ opened at $44.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 3.28. IonQ, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.89 and a 52-week high of $84.64.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.23. The company had revenue of $80.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.47 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 553.27% and a negative return on equity of 22.29%. IonQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 286.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.70) earnings per share. Analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $151,662.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,154 shares in the company, valued at $613,581.54. This trade represents a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $151,690.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,444,692.16. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Friday, August 7th. Northland Securities increased their target price on IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.92.

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.