IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 7.9% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.40 and last traded at $44.58. 18,418,371 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 74% from the average session volume of 10,585,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

IonQ Trading Up 7.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.04 and a beta of 2.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.57.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.22) EPS. On average, analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $634,349.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at $16,985,373.33. This represents a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in IonQ by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in IonQ by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in IonQ by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in IonQ by 4,824.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 40.6% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 7,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.