IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 2.4% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) traded down 2.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.25 and last traded at $40.82. 17,033,527 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 69% from the average session volume of 10,087,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

IonQ Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.62 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total value of $98,184.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 648,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,953.76. This represents a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised 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 worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of IonQ by 12.4% during the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in IonQ by 29.3% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 4,288 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in IonQ by 4,824.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 6,368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in IonQ by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently 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.