IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 1.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares were up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.78 and last traded at $23.65. Approximately 6,399,051 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 14,410,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on IONQ. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Trading Up 5.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.47 and a beta of 2.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.27.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, Director William F. Scannell purchased 93,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. This represents a 82.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.