IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $38.54, but opened at $40.01. IonQ shares last traded at $38.71, with a volume of 3,008,207 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

IonQ Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of -45.94 and a beta of 2.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.19.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced 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 net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 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 transaction of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $634,349.01. Following the sale, the executive now owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at $16,985,373.33. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652 over the last 90 days. 11.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. City State Bank purchased a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in IonQ by 1,348.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in IonQ by 406.3% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently 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.