IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 3.9% – Time to Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price was up 3.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.00 and last traded at $42.96. Approximately 8,993,624 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 42,269,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IONQ. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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 boosted their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

IonQ Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.44 and a beta of 2.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.81.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $12.40 million during 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 revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.22) EPS. Research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. City State Bank bought a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 2,325.0% in the 4th quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 970 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.