IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,410,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the March 31st total of 43,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days. Approximately 26.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

IonQ Stock Performance

IonQ stock opened at $8.75 on Thursday. IonQ has a 1 year low of $5.29 and a 1 year high of $21.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.26 and its 200-day moving average is $11.03.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.03. IonQ had a negative net margin of 715.77% and a negative return on equity of 28.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that IonQ will post -1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Jungsang Kim sold 10,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.20, for a total transaction of $104,244.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 6,619,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,523,398.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other IonQ news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 29,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.20, for a total transaction of $300,410.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 451,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,576.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Jungsang Kim sold 10,220 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.20, for a total value of $104,244.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 6,619,941 shares in the company, valued at $67,523,398.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,556 shares of company stock valued at $882,871. Corporate insiders own 13.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in IonQ by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,906,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,864,000 after purchasing an additional 193,924 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,430,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in IonQ by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,498,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,299,000 after buying an additional 43,237 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in IonQ by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,321,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,371,000 after acquiring an additional 29,577 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in IonQ by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 861,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,814,000 after acquiring an additional 47,967 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

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.