IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price traded down 1.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $41.38 and last traded at $41.68. 5,448,202 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 32,528,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

IonQ Stock Down 1.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.03.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.22) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total value of $290,661.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,524,108.08. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,223 shares of company stock worth $1,314,652. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in IonQ by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in IonQ by 406.3% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.