IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 8.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shot up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $24.00 and last traded at $22.40. 14,780,361 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 15,372,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. DA Davidson raised IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Up 24.0 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.97. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of -32.57 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total transaction of $37,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. The trade was a 82.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Scannell bought 93,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,945,375.07. This trade represents a 221.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Milestone Asset Management LLC grew its position in IonQ by 55.5% during the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 42,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 15,109 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 1st quarter valued at about $668,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 50.0% during the first quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of IonQ by 6.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 323,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,149,000 after purchasing an additional 20,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in IonQ by 1,054.8% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215 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.