IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.07, but opened at $24.31. IonQ shares last traded at $22.77, with a volume of 6,959,576 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upgraded IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, IonQ currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.99 and a beta of 2.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.37.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total value of $37,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,875.36. The trade was a 82.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $29,828.40. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 592,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,563,438. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 421.0% during the fourth 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 period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by 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.