IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 12.5% – Time to Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price rose 12.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.61 and last traded at $43.74. Approximately 17,433,522 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 46,777,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum increased their price target on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.94 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.86 and a 200-day moving average of $19.43.

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

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 22,875 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total value of $406,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,658 shares in the company, valued at $10,519,679.50. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,098 shares of company stock worth $1,720,683 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,036,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in IonQ during the third quarter worth approximately $3,749,000. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,865,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,420,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,640,000 after purchasing an additional 199,360 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.