IonQ Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:IONQ)

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 42,889 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 61% compared to the typical volume of 26,560 call options.

IonQ Trading Up 10.9 %

Shares of NYSE:IONQ traded up $2.84 on Friday, reaching $29.00. The company had a trading volume of 20,835,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,307,395. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of -35.80 and a beta of 1.89. IonQ has a 52-week low of $6.22 and a 52-week high of $29.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.47.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.22) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that IonQ will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 22,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total value of $406,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 592,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,519,679.50. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 66,000 shares of company stock worth $972,331 over the last three months. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 4.0% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 36,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 14.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 343,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,000 after buying an additional 44,200 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 1st quarter valued at $153,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 29,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in IonQ by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,824,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,062,000 after purchasing an additional 918,265 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $11.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark upped their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.